Sunset Hue
by Syrlai
Summary: Tsuna figured that the universe was out to get him because his life couldn't get suckier than what he was going through in his show pubescent life. So he went for a walk, hoping to clear his head, literally. As fate would have had it - under strange circumstances - he met a girl who could possibly be the best thing that has happened to him. TsunaxOC
1. The Odd Meeting

**I know what some of you are thinking: "Why are you not updating TU and Family Tales?" **

**Simple, because I'm still in the process of writing them. Lol, this is another of my story test-runs. I would just like to get them out to get some feedback so that I'd know what projects I'm continuing after TU is over. **

**From the tag, this is a romance fic between an OC of mine and my husband (#youwishhewas) lol, but really. I seem to recall that I couldn't write Romance to save my life but I am determined to overcome that and this is the product of my spontaneous hardwork. Seriously, I need feedback. Like Reaping Blood, this will remain as a one-shot unless I update it randomly. In between TU and Family Tales and my PJO/LOTR crossover, this is a side-project that I only do when I'm stress. Ok? Ok. Onwards!**

**Disclaimer: I don't own KHR but I did make a sandwhich in its likeness and ate it.**

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><p>A lot of things could be said about Sawada Tsunayoshi; pathetic, weak, scrawny, and dumb. That's what the kids in his neighborhood called him at least. All of these words though, we're summed up into a title that would stay with him for years to come.<p>

They called him Dame-Tsuna.

It started out as teasing whispers over an unfortunate accident during kindergarten. But having a low self-esteem and a shy demeanor didn't help his plummeting popularity. It got worse. The teasing became bullying and soon the abuse followed. Tsuna could hardly remember a time when he wasn't bullied at school. When he wasn't ostracized by his peers and beaten to a pulp.

But save the sob story for another time. Everybody who reads this pretty much understood who Sawada Tsunayoshi is. If you don't, go home. You're bloody drunk if you don't know the main character of this fandom.

Fast forwarding, Tsuna is now fourteen years old and attending middle school. He thought he could start new, hoped that he could turn his life around and possibly make friends. His hopes were immediately shot down when he realized, as he came to his class that day with a smile that most of his elementary classmates transferred to Namimori Middle. His smile immediately slipped off his face and his hope crushed.

It was with dread as he stood in middle of the gym during the opening ceremony. He could feel the stares, the whispers and mild spite directed at him. He withstood it, as he had for the last few years by telling himself that it was best to keep quiet and to let it pass. His eyes caught Sasagawa Kyoko's frame from the mass of students in front of him and his cheeks darkened.

Last year, she helped him to the infirmary after a mean beating. She was so gentle that he instantly fell for her and ever since then, he had developed a crush over the girl. He knew that she was too good for him but that didn't stop him from fantasizing.

After the ceremony, anything that happened after was what he expected. He went home that evening, grimacing as his shoulder ached.

"I'm home," he called out hollowly.

There was no answer.

"Right," Tsuna muttered to himself. "Mom won't be back till tom." He suddenly remembered that his Mother left the day before to go to Tokyo to attend a distant relative's funeral. Knowing that no one was around, he could feel the moisture in his eyes prickle and he sniffed. Limping towards his bedroom, he flopped on the bed and buried himself in the covers without changing.

Curling into a ball, he prayed with all his might that things would get better.

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><p>Fuck the universe. <em>Nothing got better.<em> Tsuna thought rather viciously after two weeks of school. He was just as bad at everything at school as he was in Elementary. He knew he was failing, knew that at this rate he'll never amount to anything in life. But goddamnit, he was content in falling into what others would call the 'spiral of despair'. He was nothing so why would the world care if he was loser?

Such thoughts plagued his mind as he walked around Namimori late at night.

"I still have that Math test tomorrow!" he screeched in frustration into the sky. No one was around to hear his outburst so Tsuna heaved heavy breaths to let out his pent-up feelings. Why can't he do anything right? So fed up with his shitty life, Tsuna threw his head back – not looking where he went – and accidentally smacked it against a street light, knocking himself out rather spectacularly. He was spread out on the ground like an exposed nerve, completely vulnerable to the dangers of the world.

(This is the part where a freaky molester appears – joke! #deathbytuna)

How long he lied there on the cold concrete he didn't know. But when he slowly opened his eyes, he found a shadow of a girl looking down on him, her face hidden by the street light shining above. As the world started to make sense around him, he noticed that she was crouching down beside him with an amused expression on her foreign face.

"Eh?" He gaped at her. Now that he had a closer look at her, he felt his face flush in embarrassment.

Her hair was a tangled mess of long blonde locks, some of it sort of stood up because of its layered style while the rest of it flowed down like waves. It looked nice – like it was just yanked out of a tight bun. Her eyes were the color blue that he couldn't identify as what. It reminded him of a flower. He was staring, he knew, but he couldn't turn away from her face. Something about the look she gave him had his face burning like the setting sun.

"It's past midnight," she said mildly. She had an accent but he couldn't focus on that, not after having registered what she said in his mind.

"Wh-What?" he gasped and shot up to a sitting position. He went out around seven! He had been out-cold for four hours? Holy shi –

"Go home before I call the police. Seriously, I thought you were on drugs or something," she joked, grinning widely at his expense.

"I-I-I… right. Yeah, yeah, thanks… for that." He stuttered lamely. He sighed at his own pathetic person, even talking to a stranger – who was pretty nice – made him stutter like a moron.

She frowned a little at him. "What's your name?" she asked.

"Sawada Tsunayoshi," he replied.

"What a mouthful," she commented and turned thoughtful. "I'll think I'll just call you Tsunayoshi… chan?"

Tsuna blanched at the nickname. She backtracked quickly at his expression. "_Mannagia tua! _Sorry! Sorry! I'm not… familiar with using honorifics in Japanese." She laughed. "What am I supposed to call you then?"

He blinked then blushed again. "Just Tsuna is fine. Don't bother with honorifics."

She beamed at him. _"Fantastico!" _

So she really _is_ a foreigner. From what country, he could only guess. "Um, can I ask for your name?"

"Sorry, I'm Mia Matteis. My first name is Mia, just call me that."

Tsuna pursed his lips. It was alright, his mind told him. She's from another country so Japanese customs didn't necessarily apply to her. He smiled at her a little. "M-M-Mia then."

She grinned and he found that her grin was infectious as his own appeared on his face. She held out a hand that he took a bit hesitantly. They shook hands, a concept that was foreign and fascinating to him.

"Well Tsuna, I think this is the start of a beautiful friendship." She declared. "As your friend, I'm telling you to go home now. It's really late and I don't think I'd want to see my new friend on the TV tomorrow saying that he's missing or something."

He actually found himself laughing, albeit a bit shyly. "Yeah, thank you Mia."

"See you around the neighborhood Tsuna!" she waved goodbye as he left.

When he went home that night, he felt better than he ever did in his whole life. He had a friend!

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><p><strong>Well there's my shitty attempt for writing romance. Sorry if its not love-at-first-sight or that shoujo stuff, I'm more western when it comes to romance. Will I do the whole canon story? Probably, I would skim most of that stuff (that's the plan).<strong>

**So what did you guys think of Mia? Like her, hate her?**

**Do you think my attempt at Romance was shit or not? I know there isn't much of romance but... you get the idea.**

**Worried of this OC of mine? Go ask questions. Send me mail or in a review and I'll answer them soooooo...**

**Review?**


	2. Sarcasm FTW

**I guess I shouldn't have updated this but I did write 6-8 chapters of Sunset Hue on my free time from writing TU. Might as well get it out there into the world and the serious lack of reviews was very disappointing. Awww...**

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><p>He was smiling when he went into class that day and for once, he wasn't late. People seemed to have a double-take at the sight of him but he didn't notice as he sat down on his desk and began to grin. Now that he had a good night's rest, Tsuna fully appreciated the joke that his new friend said when they met. A warm feeling spread across his body at the thought of having to call someone a friend.<p>

"What are you smiling about Dame-Tsuna?" Tsuna blinked as he was pulled away from his thoughts to look at the speaker. Takeda Sosa was one of his classmates that just jumped into terrorizing-Tsuna-bandwagon for no damn reason. He was a jerk that loved to make jokes on his expense. His smile turned down as he shrunk away from Takeda. His day was going so _well_ too.

"Answer me Dame-Tsuna!" Behind him, Takeda's friends snickered.

He chose to remain silent. He might be a coward and weak but he always had enough dignity to have pride. Besides, it was a small comfort to defy his bullies even at the smallest of things. If he ever revealed that he had a friend, they would make fun of her too for hanging out with him. He didn't want Mia to see that he was the lowest of the low – lower than the geeks at the occult club or have her ridiculed. He didn't think he could stand the shame once she realizes that he was a loser. He was thankful that she didn't go to Namimori Middle. But then again, was she in Japan for a vacation or something? What in the hell was she doing out so late at night anyway? Was she even real? He started panicking. She _seemed _real. He wasn't even that far into hormones to come up with a girl in his dreams, he was sure of that. Hell, Japanese girls don't joke with strangers they've just met either.

"Sawada!" Tsuna was jerked out of his thoughts.

Takeda and his friends were staring at him oddly. Tsuna realized he had been thinking a bit too intense and that his panicked expression freaked them out. Wow, he usually wasn't that deep into his thoughts. Sure there was the occasional daydream of getting married to Kyoko but he always managed to slip back before anyone noticed him drooling.

"Er… yeah?" he said.

"What a weirdo." one of Takeda's friends commented. Tsuna blushed and turned to fiddling his thumbs nervously.

Seeing that Sawada Tsunayoshi was acting weirder than his timid, dame self, Takeda turned away to talk about something more interesting, like Kyoko Sasagawa who just so happened to walk in on that moment looking like an angel. Tsuna stopped fiddling and was staring now. Kyoko looked very cute today – she had sakura hairclips on. He smiled goofily at the sight of her. Kurokawa Hana stepped in after Kyoko and saw him. She said something – probably something insulting his intelligence or calling him a primate – and Kyoko gave her friend an admonishing look before smiling and waving her hand in Tsuna's direction.

Oh Kami he was in heaven right now. He took an arrow to the head at that. _Wave back _– his brain told him once it could function. _Move your arm dumbass! _A little bit enthusiastic, he waved back at her. She gave him a smile and turned to talk to the girls in class. There was a collection of sighs from all the boys around him. He felt like dropping sweat – the other guys must have thought she was waving to them. Whatever, he knew it was meant for him and that made it so much sweeter. He was daydreaming about a future with Kyoko when the teacher came in to start homeroom.

"Class, we have a transferring student today from Italy. Please be supportive of your new classmate." There was a collective whisper that broke out at that.

_A transfer student? Big deal. _His mind unconsciously brushed off.

"Waaaaaahhh! I hope it's a guy!"

"Please, please, _please _let it be a hot chick!"

"As if she'd be interested in you anyway man."

"Shut up!"

The door slid open and the room quieted and then a _very_ familiar voice froze Tsuna. His necked whipped so fast he knew it would ache later. There she was, standing there in Namimori Middle uniform and her blonde hair tied up into a messy bun. Her blue eyes were downcast as she nervously introduced herself.

_"_She's cute man!" Somebody whispered behind him.

"_Ciao_, my name is Matteis, Mia and I'm pleased to meet you – _Tsuna?_" she saw him and beamed. She looked very relieved seeing him. He should be flattered, but instead he felt horrified.

He always liked to think he was an optimist – hadn't broken down yet after all – but when shit hits the fan, he can be a _very_ pessimistic person. _No no no no no no no no… she's going to find out. She'll hate me. _He could feel every eye on him. He felt like dying then and there.

"Sawada, you know Matteis-san?" the teacher asked.

"He does!" Mia spoke brightly, not noticing his suffering. "We're friends."

It was like a punch to the gut. Whispers were breaking out once more. Whispers that he did not want to hear. He didn't want to see her face once she realizes that he was a loser. What people called him being the name she will call him from now on. He won't be a 'friend' to her any longer. He was starting to grieve for his loss already.

"I see then – you can take a seat beside Sawada-san."

When Mia passed him, she did something rather unexpected. She lightly nudged his forehead with the tip of her finger, bewildering him. "I still think I need to call the police," she said, using the same joking tone from last night. Then she promptly sat down, smiling and a bit more relaxed than before. Just like that, he felt drained of worry as he realized she was referring to what she said when they met. He let out a small, unbelievable snort that had her grinning at him.

"Police? What was that about?" one of the girls whispered to each other.

"So…" he started after a moment. "You're from Italy?"

Mia was going to answer but then their teacher had conveniently left and a mob of students suddenly surrounded her, blocking her from his sight. His heart started to sink. He'd give it probably ten minutes and then she won't be joking with him anymore. While Tsuna was wallowing in his misery, Mia had a hard time fending off her classmates.

"What's Italy like?"

"Why are you studying in Japan?"

"Ne, ne, you're so cute Matteis-san!"

"What's your phone number?"

Mia had a strict need-to-know policy that she followed dutifully, answering general questions that weren't too personal and ignored others that she deemed a bit too stalker-ish for her liking. She wanted to talk desperately with Tsuna but this blockage of bodies made it really hard to do that so she resigned herself to getting to meet her new classmates. The girls were nice, especially Kyoko Sasagawa but Mia didn't seem to think she can be friends with them. For one, they were too… _girly_. She cringed when one of them called her cute and tried not to show her expression on how she felt being called by that. So she laughed – a bit forced if anyone was smart enough to notice it. Second, they were all about all the sugar, spice and everything nice from the looks of it – except maybe Hana Kurokawa. That girl could make a career of being a lawyer from that face of hers.

Uh, no. Mia was a girl, but she wasn't _that_ girly.

The guys though… it's like they were deprived or something. They kept asking a lot of personal questions that were annoying. It was starting to grate on her nerves but she resisted at making a very sarcastic answer. Her teachers in Italy never approved of cheek, she wondered how Japanese people would. Probably throw a huge cultural shock. So she tried her best to polite, until a question from Kurokawa (she finally figured how to use honorifics. It was embarrassing to have called Tsuna "chan") came out of nowhere.

"So how did you and Sawada meet?"

"Yeah, how did Dame-Tsuna even make friends?" One of the boys wondered, causing a chain of laughter around her. That caught her attention. Through the slips and cracks of people, she saw the mop of brown locks flinch. Mia seriously hoped that she just mis-translated what the guy said. Apparently, she was right at what he meant and frowned. She didn't know what 'Dame' meant though she doubted it was anything but good.

_There it is_, Tsuna thought. He braced himself for what is about to come.

"We just did." Her voice rang out, strong and a bit sarcastic. It silenced the people around her. Tsuna could feel his heart beating wildly in his ears. He hardly believed what he was hearing. She sounded… a_ggravated_. "I walked into him, made a joke and became friends."

"That's it?" Takeda explained, stunned at her blunt reply.

"When you make friends don't you usually socialize with them?" Tsuna bit his lip. He could seriously see the expression in her words. It like she was stating the obvious and that they were too stupid to realize that.

"Well yeah," Takeda faltered.

"Is there a custom in Japan on how to be friends? Blood oaths or exchanging cups of wine?" She quickly followed up. He felt like cracking then and there from laughter.

"No but he's dame-Tsuna!" There was a chorus of agreements. Did people really think of him that?

"And that is supposed to make me feel what?" Her voice was bland when she replied.

It was a good thing that a teacher came in at that moment – they had impeccable timing – and the students dispersed to go back to their seats. Some looked a bit disturbed but Mia seemed content at what she had done – which was literally insult (a bit subtlety) some of their classmates and declare that she was Sawada Tsunayoshi's friend. As lessons began, he snuck a glance at her.

Mia caught his eye and winked.

Feeling like he worried for nothing, Tsuna turned to look at the sheet of paper that was just handed to him.

Oh fucking shit. He forgot. There was a math test today. Damn it!

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><p><strong>Usually, if anyone's sarcastic in my stories, it's Tsuna. Mia is proving to be a joy to write and very refreshing. Both Sunset and Reaping are very liberating and I feel that this would help me finish TU since I seem to be running into brick walls lately. So what do you guys think? Is Mia the usual Mary Sue? Not a very anime-like character? <strong>

**Well she is a westerner. I'm sooo sorry if she's not the steriotypical foreigner that Japanese anime seem to have (seriously, what is up with that? Is it just for humor? Well it _is _funny _sometimes_). **

**Any questions anybody seems to have, you know the drill.**

**Please do Review! **


	3. Friend

**At least _someone_ reviewed. I was worried that Mia may have turned out as some Shoujo-cliche character that I would hate to have. NO CHILD OF MINE IS GOING TO BE A SHOUJO CLICHE. **

**Anyway, happy new year! **

**Disclaimer: I don't own KHR but when I write for it, I make sure its damn good.**

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><p>It was during lunch break that Mia had dragged him out of class by the sleeve of his uniform while holding a small bag. They were out of the school and at the field when she let him go. The field was mostly empty, save for a few people but it was just them at the moment under a tree. There were no windows nearby that anyone would use to spy on them and it was nicely shaded from the sun, Tsuna wondered if Mia intentionally brought him here for privacy.<p>

"What's up with class?" she asked, frowning. "What does 'dame' mean and why do they call you that?"

"Er… um…" he looked away, his cheeks flaming.

"Spill." She commanded.

"Dame means… useless. Around here I'm called useless," he said lowly, not willing to look her in the eye.

She was staring, he knew. He could feel it. "How can you be useless?" she said, disbelief evident on her expression.

That was a little bit harder to explain. He felt his face growing steadily hotter as he told her of his – quote, _unquote_ – reputation to be a failure. As he went on, he caught a glimpse of her face. It was an increasing mix between disbelief, exasperation and laughter. When he was done, after giving a detailed explanation of how hazardous his clumsiness is to others and himself, he risked sneaking another glance at her and found she was shaking her head at him.

"_Devi essere scherzando_," she said, looking like in all the word that it was the stupidest thing she ever heard (_"You've got to be kidding me")._ Tsuna wished he understood Italian though he did understood what she meant, which threw him off guard. Why didn't she understand? On the other hand, why did he want her to look at him the way everybody else did? He didn't understand it himself. It was so _backwards_ that it made his head hurt.

"Do you get it?" he said.

She frowned at him, clearly displeased. "I get it but that doesn't mean I agree with it."

"But what they say is true!" he argued.

She walked up to him, firmly placed her hands on his shoulders and looked resolutely in his eyes. Tsuna could practically _feel _her disapproval radiating from her. It unnerved him how she looked at him. Despite being the same height, Mia felt taller than he was.

"What they say is called an _opinion_. Not the truth," she said. "I don't believe it until I see it so for me, it's an _opinion_."

There was a stone lodged into his throat when he tried to swallow. "What happens then?" he asked, voice thick. "What if I really am what they say?"

One of her eyebrows rose. "So what? There are tons of people who suck at studying. That's why tutoring and summer classes were invented."

"I'm bad at physical classes too!"

"Obviously you're just not the sporty type."

Frustrated, Tsuna blurted out "I'm clumsy!"

The corner of her mouth twitched upwards. "So am I." He gaped shamelessly at her.

"You? Clumsy?" he could hardly believe it. She smiled this time.

"Very." She assured him. The lilt in her voice sounded like there must have been a story behind that. He suddenly felt like knowing. Mia's facial expressions were very expressive – whatever it was that happened, it must have been pretty bad.

"How bad?" he found himself casually asking. Her smile turned into a full-blown grin.

She let go of him and laughed uncertainly. "Like forever-shamed-in-your-family bad."

He cringed good-naturedly. "What did you do?" he wondered.

"I set fire to the living room at my uncle's house during a family reunion," she said, a humorous expression crossing her face. "Uncle Murray never invited us ever again but _Pa _said it was alright – he didn't like Uncle all that much because he cooked the _worst _meals _ever_. When I was a kid I thought that his _Spezzatino di Cinghiale_ tasted more like rat than wild boar. It was… stringy." She made a show of gagging and Tsuna laughed. It was amazing at how easily she made him feel at ease.

Satisfied that she had accomplished her goal, Mia sat down on the ground. She patted to the spot beside her. He sat down and she offered him a sandwich she brought with her in her bag. Tsuna suddenly realized that he didn't even bring lunch with him since he couldn't cook. He was planning on buying something from the campus store but when she offered him that sandwich with her infectious grin, he didn't refuse. It was a good thing too, because the sandwich was _really_ good and totally not Japanese.

When he started eating, Mia immediately shot to going on to a more detailed version of her story. Her animate gestures and exaggerated dialogue had him laughing sick to his stomach, to the point that his throat hurt from laughing so much.

"Okay," he choked out as she munched on her own lunch. "You win."

She gave him a very smug I-told-you-so look and offered him another sandwich. He took it this time without hesitation.

He had never felt as content as he did at that moment, eating a sandwich and just _talking_. Actually, he couldn't remember when he had a decent conversation that wasn't with his Mother. Mia was a gracious listener as she listened to him rambling about his grades and basically his middle-school life. She didn't interrupt him though her face did say a lot on what she thought about the matter. In turn, Mia rambled about her first impressions on her classmates. She was just in the middle of calling Takeda an attention-douchebag – after she got a proper translation from Tsuna in Japanese – when she stilled, staring wide eyed at something behind him. Tsuna turned and let out an effeminate squeak.

Hibari Kyoya stood there, his arms hanging on his sides with tonfas in grip and eyes narrowed under the sun.

"Herbivores," he said.

"Hieeeee! Hibari-san!" Tsuna quickly stood up. Mia followed, although she was much slower. She was staring at the tonfas that he held.

"Lunch break is almost over." If it was even more possible – which it was – his eyes narrowed even more. "Get back to class or I'll bite you to death."

"H-H-Hai!" Tsuna said and quickly left, taking Mia back with him. They went back to class is a slower pace now that they were very far from Hibari.

"Who was _that_?" Mia said.

"That's Hibari-san, the head prefect and leader of the disciplinary committee of Namimori-middle." He sighed in relief. "Thank god he didn't bite us to death!"

"Did you really just say 'bite us to death' or did I get that wrong?"

He shook his head. "You're not wrong." Her face paled a bit and he frowned, quickly saying "But he won't hurt you if you follow the school rules!" She nodded. She muttered something again in Italian that he couldn't understand then straightened herself up. Tsuna decided to do her a favor and told her how things worked in Namimori-Middle. He jumped across the topic of everyone calling and treating him as Dame-Tsuna and dived head-first into what _not_ to do to get on Hibari's disciplinary or the man himself bad side. His crash course helped her understand that yes, Hibari did beat the living shit out of people who broke the peace, yes people were afraid of him, and yes, Hibari carried a pair of steel tonfas everywhere with him that he used for said shit beatings.

They were back in the classroom when Mia suddenly grabbed his arm, looking dazed.

"Mia?" he worriedly looked her over. She seemed alright. "If you want, I can go ahead then you can come after me so they won't see us together."

She glared at him. Her hand that was holding on to him suddenly latched off and smacked him against the shoulder. He yelped. "What was that for?"

"Stop that," she said. "I don't like it."

He decided to drop it and rubbed his shoulder. "What's wrong then?"

She sighed. "It's just… when I came to Japan I didn't think I was going to meet a prefect that uses violence to keep the peace. Talk about irony. Just this morning a guy was running around the neighborhood shouting 'extreme'."

Tsuna coughed a bit. He decided to not mention that the guy she was talking about was studying here in this school as well. When she finds out for herself, the look on her face would be hilarious. It was a small form of payback that he would find totally worth it. But she was right, and Tsuna suddenly felt sympathy for her. She was still new here too and must have felt more than a little left out.

"Is it bad though?" he asked.

She shook her head. "Nope, just… strange." She smiled. "Nothing I can't handle!" She nudged him, a conspiratorial gleam in her eye. "Besides, I got you don't I?"

While he was flattered by her words, he did not like the double meaning that came with it and he huffed to show it. She bit her lip – still smiling – and opened the door.

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><p>Mia had adjusted well to Japan, Tsuna thought proudly as she managed to bargain against a stall owner for their vegetables. Even Mom couldn't do that. He was grinning when she made her way back to him, holding a bag of fresh vegetables and a cocky smirk on her face. It was probably a week that passed since they've met and Mia had done more than Tsuna asked her to.<p>

For one, she dragged him off on studying sessions to the community library after she saw that he wasn't really kidding about his grades. She said it was the most horrifying thing ever to grace her academic mind. He found to his surprise – Mia was really good at surprising him – that her Father used to be an archaeologist but now taught in prestigious universities as a History professor. One of the things she inherited apparently was her smarts. She tutored him in all his subjects, even though she sucked at Japanese history and just Japanese in general for reasons that are glaringly obvious, she still managed to teach him Science, Math, English and other things. He had to admit, she was a very good teacher. He caught on better than he ever learned at school. Probably because she taught in a way that he could understand. It did wonders to some of his tests as they steadily grew in score – to the surprise of his teachers. They started doing homework together at his house too, much to the delight of his mother that just came home a few nights ago.

She gushed at Mia, complimenting her that she was 'cute'. Mia flushed and took the compliment awkwardly. Tsuna learned that Mia wasn't comfortable with being complimented and decided to save her from his Mother.

She can't do much for his athletic ability though she did declare earlier before they left to go shopping that she'll figure out how to get him out of what she jokingly called his room, 'his man-cave'. She relentlessly teased him when he first showed her his room that he was such a boy in that aspect and began to embarrassingly point out his underwear. Her shameless teasing mortified him more than he cared to admit but it seemed to have the intended reaction she wanted as he cleaned himself up more than he used to.

It was the weekend that Mia decided to hang out just as his mother asked him to go shopping. She didn't mind, saying that she might as well do her shopping as well. Her skills for bargaining were literally tear-jerking as the stall owner was left to cry at his loss. Mia said that fresh vegetables were the best and that it was better than supermarkets.

"_Figo_," he said and she beamed at him (_"Cool or awesome"_). Her usage of Italian slang was infectious as her smiles were. He took the bag away from her and sent the store owner a look of sympathy.

Mia snorted. "I've haggled with tougher people in Italy than he was."

"Still," Tsuna trailed away. "Anyway, I think we have everything. We're good to go." He peered into the bags he held. They walked in comfortable silence on the way back, just stopping by Mia's apartment complex to drop off her things before rejoining him outside.

Honestly, he never thought he could have a friend like Mia or at least, have a girl as a friend at all. He was awkward with them at best but Mia seemed to act more like a boy than she did as a girl except for a few things, like cooking – he found out that she made that sandwich – shopping, and normal daily feminine hygiene. She didn't do cute clothes and opted to wear jeans, shirts and boots, she didn't even wear jewelry and liked to get down and dirty. She once said to him, while walking home from school together, that she didn't like Japan's uniforms as it was too breezy down _there._ Needless to say he spluttered out a response and she laughed at him. Despite that, he was very comfortable around her even going as far as to make jokes with her in class. Well, she did the joking – using terrible, _terrible_, shameless puns – all he did was shook on his desk with laughter, trying not to make any noise as she slipped him occasionally notes of pun drawings.

He was waiting for her to come down when he heard a cry and a painful thud. He instantly ran up the stairs to see Mia sprawled against the ground. He dropped everything he held and knelt by her side, not caring if some of the eggs were cracked.

She grimaced in pain as she rubbed her head. "Where does it hurt?" Tsuna asked, worried. She brushed him off with a "I'm fine," and stood up. Mia inspected her left arm, which Tsuna presumed as what she used to land on, and hissed when a large bruise seemed to blossom from her elbow to half-way through her forearm. He stood up as well, still worried. She didn't sustain any other injuries except for her arm. It wasn't bad – he had worse experience after all – but he didn't like the way it marred her skin. It felt like it was taunting him.

She saw his expression and sighed. "Really Tsuna, don't worry about it. Did we not establish that I am a clumsy person? So I slipped, not a big deal."

He nodded and took her arm to examine it for himself. She let him do it, seeing as he was so worried. Tsuna realized very early on that Mia had no qualms against being touchy. She was an affectionate person, he found when he was walking to school one day and Mia came out of nowhere to give him a surprise tackle from behind – as in tackle him to the ground like some professional wrestler. If he were to do this to any other girl, they probably would have slapped him.

He prodded it gently to gauge her reaction and flexed her arm. From his own experience of bruises, he deducted that it would take a week for it to fade. Satisfied, he let go. Mia was pouting or at least, tried not to.

"Don't look at me like that," he admonished her.

"Yes Mom." All sarcasm and no bite. He rolled his eyes and went to pick up the bags he left. He checked in one of them and was pleased that the eggs weren't broken. They went back to his house, helped his mom sort out the food and went up to his room. Mia instantly went to his bed and flopped down on it, snuggling into his pillow like a cat. He shook his head and went to go play video games. After a while of playing, Mia spoke up. "Hey Tsuna?"

"Hmnn?" he said, eyes still on the TV.

"Why is it you got a gaming console but you don't have a cell phone?"

His character stood too long out of the open and got shot down. "Why are you asking?" he said, annoyed that he died although he wondered it himself.

"Because!" She rolled to lie on her stomach. She pulled out her own phone – customized black with a trident on it from one of her favorite book series – and waved it. "It's a necessity! Besides, don't you want to text me in case of emergencies or anyone else for that matter?"

He frowned. "I didn't think it could be used for other stuff like that," he honestly said.

Mia let out a long-suffering groan.

"_Zitto!_" Tsuna said, flushing at his ignorance (_"Shut up!"_).

"No need to be so upset. Let's go get you one later, I think your mom wouldn't mind if you wanted a phone." She said as she crawled down from the bed to pick up the second controller to join him. He eyed her for a moment then back at the screen. He felt comforted at least that she wasn't as good as he was in video games and grinned when Mia died eight times in a row without him dying once. She tossed the controller aside in frustration, muttering some not nice things in Italian about the game from the sound of it.

"Let's go ask mom for my phone," Tsuna said while grinning. Her expression was sour but he brushed it off. He knew she didn't really mean it. She nudged his shoulder; he nudged back a bit more strongly to tip her of balance. Mia returned it by shoving him to the ground and running out the room before he could recover. He chased her through his house, hot on her heels while she said loudly, "Mrs. Sawada your son is trying to kill me!"

"Am not!" he shouted back, though he laughed.

"Ara! You kids are having so much fun!" Nana said, happy to see her son as happy as she was.

Mia was down the stairs when Tsuna decided to skip the last few steps and leaped down. He felt _great_ and _glorious _when he managed to pull her down to the ground. They stayed there on the floor, giggling like two kids before Mia raised her head. Her hair was messier than ever with strands curtaining her face. She blew those away and he laughed from his spot on the floor. He turned his neck around to see his mother covering her mouth, fighting a laugh of her own.

"Hey mom?" he called.

"Yes Tsu-kun?"

"Can I have a phone?"

* * *

><p><strong>I feel really fluffy while writing for this one. I love friendship! <strong>

**Here are the translations for what Mia and Tsuna say sometimes:**

**_Dev__i essere scherzando -_ you've got to be kidding me**

**_Spezzatino di Cinghiale -_ Wild Boar Stew**

**_Figo - _Cool/Awesome**

**_Zitto - _Shut up!**

**Lol, I can't wait to have Tsuna start speaking Italian. If there was one thing I wished Amano Akira did for Tsuna's academics was that he could have at least learned Italian. The boy is going to be the boss of the Vongola and he _ain't learning freaking Italian. _WTF. Are other Families supposed to learn Japanese for his sake? I would think not. Actually, I would think that would be disrespectful to them. Vongola may be powerful but they can't strut around having people bow before them. I would like to retain some Mafia dignity here. **

**So how was it? **

**REVIEW! **


	4. Avoiding Subjects

**WHY AM I UPDATING THIS FIC IN FOUR CONSECUTIVE DAYS?**

**Because I'v fallen in love that's why. SU actually had proved itself to be very fun to write, plus I'm getting to live my dream of giving Tsuna that love interest I've always wanted to see him with. Besides, these are all just a bunch of plot-bunnies that I have to get rid off. Its fun and it allows me to expand or explore the KHR universe. **

**Now once I start working on a _smut_ *evil laugh* I'll be competing against my greatest friend and rival... she writes at tumblr though and her smuts are _amazing_. Omfg, she even managed to get a response from the person who voiced her favorite character that she wrote about. Now that is accomplishing something!**

**Disclaimer: I don't own KHR but I sure as hell do own this fic and I'll do what I want with it! **

_***snap snap snap snap **__**snap **__**snap **__**snap**_

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><p>It was a hot day despite, what Mia grandly declared one day at school "Winter is coming!" That earned her a few strange looks but she ignored it, proud that she managed to deliver a line that she had so wanted to say. Tsuna wasn't complaining either; he liked her referencing stuff he didn't know about and when he did know, it felt great to understand the inside joke while other people were confused.<p>

He had discovered that his friend was a bookworm. She didn't hide it or anything but one day she just brought out a copy of _Lord of the Rings_ in English to read during break. He asked about it and ended up being assaulted with lectures of Middle Earth's history and how Sam was a kick-ass character and was totally cute. It was hard not to be interested and he ended up coming to her apartment for a movie marathon because in her words, "I will not have my best friend be some uneducated plebeian." It was very offending to Tsuna (even though he didn't know what 'plebeian' meant except he knew it was insulting). She merely shrugged his feelings off and proceeded to have him watch with her. He forgave her for that because she called him her best friend, which left him giddy for the rest of the day, to her amusement.

Needless to say, it was two hours well spent. Then he learned that she had at least two bookcases full of all kinds of books and movies when he realized something while examining the books, "Hey, where are your parents? Don't you think they mind me being here?"

Mia stuck her head through the window that led into the kitchen, her hair tied into a pony tail. "Pa is in Tokyo University doing a lecture on Historical relations of Japan. He trusts me to take care of myself."

"Your mom?" There was silence in the kitchen as all activities in there closed to a stop. "Mia?" Tsuna called out, worried and went into the kitchen.

He found her smiling sadly at the dough she was working on. "_Mama_ died when I was young," she said softly and resumed working.

Tsuna suddenly felt like dirt. No, worse than dirt. He felt like _shit_. "I'm really sorry Mia," he said. God, why did he have to be so _thick_? She never mentions her mother at all. Couldn't he have picked up on that? "Really, I didn't mean to bring it up."

Mia rolled her eyes in exasperation and smiled, not sad anymore. "If you're really sorry, come and help me."

He was prepared to do _anything _just to make her feel better but in the end, it was he who was crying hot salty tears. Mia laughed at him as he tried to dice the onion into small cubes. Just hearing her laugh was totally worth the pain in his eyes and oh god it _burned_. He stayed at her place for dinner that night, talking about how relatable Frodo was and how he liked Gimli's rough but nice character.

He was excited thinking about the next movie after the Fellowship when one of his classmates shouted at him.

"Dame-Tsuna! The ball!" Ball? He looked up as saw indeed. It was heading right towards him. The next few seconds were a blur as he struggled to kick it into their opponent's net. When he did, it went off course, heading straight to where the girls were on the other side of the field instead. His eyes slid down to where it would hit and to his horror, it was falling straight down on _Kyoko-chan_.

"Watch out!" he cried.

It was in slow motion as Kyoko turned around and saw the ball, how others were running towards her but were too far and the people around her too stunned to move when Mia shoved her out of the way. He was so relieved until Mia got hit on the head instead. Her head lashed to the side rather painfully and Tsuna frantically came to run up her side, a mantra of "I'm sorry!" escaping his lips.

She just brushed him off with, "You got one hell of a kick Tsuna.," and winced when she touched her head. "_Figurati, figurati._" She assured him but Tsuna was having none of that and began shooing her to the nurse's office (_"I'm fine/ I'm okay"_). His teacher couldn't even get an edgewise until they were gone. He was being overbearing, he knew, but he couldn't help it especially it was _his _fault that she was hurt. It left a bad taste in his mouth and he swore to pay more attention to his surroundings from now on.

He gave her an icepack when they saw that the nurse wasn't around. She snatched it from his hand, aggravated that he was treating her like an invalid.

"Seriously Tsuna, I'm _fine_." She stressed.

"That's what you always say," he retorted.

"Because it's true!" she insisted.

"But you got hit!"

"Which was _my _choice!" she snapped. "Or would you rather have Sasagawa-san hit?"

"But still," he grumbled, eyes straying down to the ground and looking like a kicked puppy.

"I know you have a thing for her by the way," she commented carelessly. He blushed wildly at that.

"H-H-How do you know?" he stuttered.

"_Ma, che sei grullo?_" she said, shaking her head and winced when it hurt her neck (_"Are you kidding me?/Are you stupid?"_). "It's pretty obvious Tsuna, you idiot."

He didn't know how to feel about that but she still looked pretty mad at him. She practically insulted him even though he didn't understand her – he really should learn Italian. It may be the best for him. Shoving aside his feelings for Kyoko aside, he reached out a tentative hand towards her temple. She glared at him and his hand stilled in midair. She pointed the icepack threateningly at him.

"No, you cannot mother hen me. There's only so much I can handle before I kick your ass Sawada."

"But," he stared at her with wide-brown eyes. He knew she was a sucker for puppy dog eyes. "I want to," he said in the most heart-breaking voice he could muster. She threw the icepack at him in response and laughed. He caught it gracelessly and grinned; happy he got her to laugh. Knowing she wasn't angry at him anymore, he reached out again to examine her head for bumps and bruises.

Mia wasn't really joking around when she told him she was clumsy. She was as bad as he was. It's just that she was more of a danger to herself – like last week she almost fell out of the second-story window after she accidentally dropped his phone and leaped after it. He nearly had a heart attack then though she just laughed at him and thanked him for grabbing on to her on time. He scolded her for that.

There was no lasting injury, to his immense relief. Her hair had a few shades of darker blonde – almost brown – he noticed and it felt smooth to the touch and it smelled nice, like apples and books. He wanted to ask her how she smelled like apples when the door slid open and he snatched his hand back, heart thudding loudly, suddenly very aware of how it might have looked to other people if they caught them.

Mia didn't seem bothered with it – she had the same expression on her face as she always did when he coddled her – that pinched 'why me?' expression.

"Matteis-san!" Kyoko suddenly rushed into the room in concern, Kurokawa falling right into step beside her. She eyed Tsuna disdainfully and huffed. He shamefully bowed his head, something that Mia did not tolerate in her presence. She kicked him lightly while greeting Kyoko and Hana.

"Hi!"

Tsuna yelped and rubbed his hip where she kicked him. He shot her a look and turned to Kyoko.

"Kyoko-chan, I'm really sorry for earlier." He bowed his head but Kyoko waved him off. She smiled at him, all innocent and bright.

"It's okay Tsuna-kun," she said then clasped her hands together and sighed dreamily. "I actually thought you were very caring when Matteis-san got hit, it was really admirable." Heat crept into his cheeks.

"R-R-Really?" he said. She nodded. Tsuna could suddenly hear the angels singing behind him in glorious harmony. He was smiling in elation and Mia snorted. _That _forced him to look at her. Her eyebrows were raised high and she was looking so damn _smug_ he forced a clamp down on his fantasies to glower at her. Kyoko didn't notice the exchange as she turned to face Mia, who was suddenly surprised.

"I came to say thank you Matteis-san!" Kyoko said and began bowing profusely. Embarrassed, Mia tried to stop her from bowing.

"Really Sasagawa-san…"

"Please call me Kyoko!" Kyoko clasped her hands so suddenly it startled Mia.

"Kyoko-san then…" Mia meekly said. She looked so lost for words than Hana stepped in, placing her hand on Kyoko's shoulder. Kyoko turned to her best friend.

"Let's go now Kyoko, Matteis-san needs to rest." Kyoko nodded and Hana led her out of the room, only stopping briefly to say something to Tsuna.

"Sawada, you better get back to class. Sensei says Matteis can be excused but not you." Tsuna nodded and Hana and Kyoko left without another word. When they were alone again, Tsuna gave Mia one last look over, except she didn't want to be coddled again and got up.

"You need to rest!" Tsuna insisted, pushing down on her shoulders so that she would stay on the bed.

"_Basta!" _she hissed (_"Enough!"_). "Seriously Tsuna I'm _fine_." She stubbornly glared at him. He glared right back. They stood there, glaring at each other without breaking eye contact until her eyes slid to the side and Mia jumped in surprise, exclaiming "Hibari-san!"

"Hiiieeeee!" Tsuna turned around and Mia made a break for it. "Hey!" he shouted as he chased after her. Her laughter mocked him as she ran. He slid to a stop though when he caught sight of – to his uttermost horror – _Hibari_ holding Mia by arms length, emitting a very sinister aura. He let her go.

Hibari opened his mouth – probably to deliver his usual threat – when Mia interrupted him in a very long and winded apology. "I'm so sorry for running in the halls I promise I won't do it again and pleasejustdon'tkillme!" The last part was rushed out in a jumbled of words.

Tsuna waited in bated breath, torn between wanting to save her and avoiding conflict altogether. It looked like he didn't need to step in because Hibari sidestepped her and walked away, saying, "Don't run in the hall or I'll bite you to death herbivore." Once Hibari was out of sight, Mia shakily walked outside. Tsuna quickly came up to her side. Her face was pale for one and her eyes were wide.

"You alright?" he asked.

"That was the scariest moment ever in my life!" she blurts out. "I thought he was going to beat me there for a second – he looked like he would, one of his hands was on his tonfas!"

Tsuna's eyes narrowed and his lips formed a thin line. Like he ever would let Hibari hit her.

"I think maybe I should have just stayed in the infirmary." She continued on, not noticing his hardened expression. He smiled a bit at that.

"I told you so," he chimed at her.

"Shut up," her instant reply was.

* * *

><p>Mia was amazed at the progress that Tsuna was making – she wasn't talking about his studies although he <em>is <em>getting better at that – no, it was his progress at learning Italian. He picked it up as easily as he could pick up her _pesto paninis_ and gobble them up. A week of tutoring and he could already understand half the things she says, which was astounding since he was never near Italian influence till she came into the picture. It was a fascinating process to behold.

Today, she lent him a copy of her own Lord of the Rings in Italian. It was time for him to learn how to understand her home tongue through the words on paper – not just spoken words. Deep down inside Mia missed the familiarity of talking to another person in Italian. Her father often wasn't there and when he was he would talk to her in English.

Speaking of English, Tsuna was good at that too, although he can't understand it just as easily as Italian or speak the words without butchering them with his accent. But baby steps, she supposed. She had to get him interested for him to learn – no sensible person would want to learn something if it was boring – so she thought perhaps her English Lightning Thief book after he was done with the Lord of the Rings would do the trick for his English.

She dotted down her reminders in a small notebook that she carried around then tucked it away in her bag that was lying down on the floor of Tsuna's bedroom. She let herself drift away on his bed, listening to the Enya songs her phone was playing While Tsuna read her book religiously by her feet. They spent most of their Italian sessions like this: Mia would take a nap while Tsuna would read quietly. He only asked her questions when he found a word he couldn't understand or pronounce.

To Tsuna, the music playing was very calming and very appropriate for his reading. He often wondered if Mia spent most of her days like this when she was a kid. She didn't mention her childhood much that was outside of her family. In a way, she was very secretive about it. After mentioning her mother, Tsuna tried to steer clear of any sensitive topics.

In all honesty though, he stared at the book in his hands, learning Italian was just a whim. He mentioned it to her a week ago during Home Economics in passing and she was ecstatic to teach him. Just seeing Mia light up was enough for him to continue studying it, he never thought he had an aptitude for it or that he would enjoy it so much. A small content smile grew on his face; he would love for things to stay as they are.

Pages turned and Tsuna kept on reading, immersed in the book. He could see why Mia was so excited to lend him this book – despite his hesitation to reading at first – because it was a joy to read, that and the fact that he couldn't get enough of her smiling and jumping up and down his bed like a child. But his eyelids were becoming heavy and he was starting to become sleepy. He fought a yawn and decided to bookmark the page he was reading on. He placed the book on his table, turned off the music and placed his head on his crossed arms atop the bed.

He watched as Mia snoozed on her nap, thinking that it wasn't such a bad thing to fall asleep like this every once in a while. He closed his eyes and fell deep into slumber.

It was dark when he woke up. Dazed, he looked around to see that Mia wasn't there anymore. He felt something slide off of his shoulders and looked to see it was his blanket. Tsuna squinted in the dark and found that her bag was still there. He looked at the clock, it read seven. It would be dinner ready soon; Mia probably went down to help his mom. She often did that now, asking for tips on Japanese cuisine and stuff.

As he descended down the stairs, he heard the voices of his mother and friend coming from the kitchen. He leaned against the wall, curious at what they were talking about.

"Was it hard for you Mia-chan?"

"I don't think I follow Ma'am."

"I meant growing up, moving from Italy, to America, then to Japan?"

"Culture shock aside, it was an interesting learning experience." Tsuna could note how carefully she worded that while at the same time successfully dodging his mother's question.

"Did you have a lot of friends?" Tsuna strained his ears, waiting for her answer.

"No," she replied. "Not important ones at least." What was that supposed to mean?

"Did you ever have a boyfriend?" His mother suddenly asked teasingly. There was a brief moment of silence before something dropped and Mia hastily replied with a no. Tsuna's own face was burning with embarrassment, groaning from the deepest recesses of his mind _Mooooooooooooom_.

Nana laughed.

"Kidding, kidding." His mother went on and switched to safer topics like how was their studies coming along and what games did they play in their spare time. Tsuna decided to come in right then and both greeted him warmly. He was going to pretend that never heard any of that, he thought as he watched his mother and best friend move through the kitchen like clockwork. Mia was a very private person and if she ever had to tell him something about herself, she would tell him at the right time and until then, he would wait.

"Ah! By the way Tsu-kun. A flyer showed up in the mail today about a tutor…"

"No thanks," Tsuna said as Mia placed a plate of food before him. He smiled gratefully at her. "I've already got one."

* * *

><p>Reborn stood outside the Sawada household, a week after he sent that flyer. He had been waiting for the call but it never came and Reborn was forced to check out <em>what the hell was going on<em>. He was watched as a boy of fourteen years bid his mother goodbye before breaking into a run as soon as he was out the gate. Reborn followed him and saw to his surprise, that he met up with a blonde girl.

He offered a hand and the girl handed him her school bag to carry while she carried a slightly smaller cloth bag. Together, they walked to school laughing and exchanging comments on a very popular book. Reborn even caught a few Italian words being expressed and wondered w_hat the fuck was going on?_

According to his intel, Sawada Tsunayoshi didn't have friends, much less a foreign blonde girl. Wait, was that even his friend. What if it was his _girlfriend?_ Reborn scoffed at the thought. No, the body interactions between the two suggested they were close but not _romantically _close.

The better question would be who was the dumbass that collected the information? Iemitsu was getting lazy. Lal should beat his ass to shape because his people weren't doing their job right. Maybe he needed to blast a few holes through the man because he was too dumb to realize that his own son hardly matched the information. Discarding the piece of shit that was Tsuna's file, and then setting it on fire, Reborn resolved himself to observe the brunette.

As the day passed, Reborn grew steadily angrier at Iemitsu.

How the fuck did that dumbass miss this? Reborn decided that when he would write a report, he would include his complains at how CEDEF was slacking off. He would make sure he would wipe it all over Iemtisu's face but that would have to wait later for Reborn had some introductions to make.

* * *

><p><strong>And here we begin the Daily Life Arc! Now keep in mind that I'll just skim some unimportant stuff but character introductions would probably take like... a mentioning in a paragraph. LOL. Except for the guardians. Really, I can't wait to have Gokudera come into the picture and be friends with Tsuna :) <strong>

**Now, I'll explain the timeline that I (didn't really think about till I published the story) wrote down. **

**Tsuna's meeting with Mia - three weeks after his First year of middle school started which is the 3rd week in April (schools start at April in Japan)**

**Reborn's coming - in the show, they aired it at October but I'm picking August for when Reborn comes into the story so it gives me at least four months of development between Tsuna and Mia. **

**As a lot of people could see, I skipped a grand amount of time but I know its a good decision. Besides, I don't think anyone would be interested at knowing how Tsuna develops a strange desire to hug Mia. Hahahaha! **

**Translation: **

**_Figurati - _I'm fine/I'm okay**

**_Ma, che sei grullo - _Are you kidding me? / Are you stupid? (Take your pick)**

**_Basta! - _in this case, Mia means "Enough!"**

**REVIEW!**


	5. Reborn's Plot

**Yay! People like Mia :) **

**I feel very happy that you guys seem so welcoming to her so here's another chapter. It's longer than the others because I decided to cover the first episode. After this I'll be skimming the daily life arc then jump right in to the mukuro arc but not without a few hilarious chapters. HA. **

**Disclaimer: I don't KHR and I never will. I have a cat though. **

* * *

><p>"What's up with you?" Mia asked him during lunch.<p>

"Nothing it's just… I feel like there's someone watching us," Tsuna wearily announced. He then popped a squid in his mouth that turned his expression around into delight.

Mia was watching his face, amused at his reaction. "You're over reacting," she pointed out. He shook his head vigorously at her.

"No really! It's good." He said, happily eating his bento.

Mia scoffed. "Some of the Japanese spices didn't work for me so I tried to give it an Italian flare instead. I didn't think it would work." She frowned and set her own bento – which was a gift from Nana – down on the ground to pull out her small notebook where she wrote important stuff. Tsuna just smiled, happy that he had such a unique lunch to eat and that Mia took his compliment.

Mia was a very hard critic to herself and never let anyone else compliment her skills except for her all knowing knowledge of Middle Earth. It was either she was very humble or she just lacked confidence. Tsuna hoped for the former because he just couldn't see her lacking confidence. Can _anyone_ though? Mia wasn't a high achiever, she just so happened to be smart as she said so herself when he asked why she didn't go for valedictorian. He liked that, made him feel like she wasn't lowering herself for his sake but because it was never an important issue anyway.

The summer breeze on the roof was very cool but to Tsuna, who had just finished his bento, it felt very cold. Something at the back of his mind was niggling at him and he couldn't figure out what. He had been looking over his shoulder since this morning almost to the point of paranoia. God he hoped it wasn't bullies out to get him. They haven't been a problem since April where Mia just went straight up to the Pompadour Disciplinary Committee to request protection. Her reasoning back then?

"Why not?"

Then she went about like a Harvard Professor, explaining the consequences of bullying and the effect on its victims, then gave low blows at how were they able to keep the peace but that peace was just an illusion that was merely built up on force. Tsuna couldn't remember exactly what she said but he was sure Mia threw a pun or two in there. He was so captivated that he couldn't even keep the awe off his face. The members were much chastised and Kasukabe-san actually conceded her request. Bullies couldn't get close to him without a disciplinary member around the corner until one day; they just stopped picking on him. Apparently this arrangement was never mentioned to Hibari and Kasukabe asked to be silent of it for in exchange of their help. Mia and Tsuna agreed, seeing as the committee would want to keep their reputation intact and god knows what Hibari would do if they found out a thirteen year old girl told his committee off.

Still, Mia warned him that there was more than one way to get back at other people and Tsuna was forced to agree. He edged closer to Mia until they were touching shoulders, alert for anything suspicious. Mia reacted naturally and leaned against him. Tsuna wondered at how at ease they were with each other. As the days passed, Tsuna could sleep then on her lap and vice versa or they would throw a casual arm over the other without thought. It was going as far as giving hugs. After Tsuna had gifted Mia a book called _Wild Magic_ on her fourteenth birthday last June, she threw her arms around him so suddenly that he was shocked for a few seconds before relaxing and awkwardly hugging her back.

He should have known nothing stays awkward between them for long. After all, watching a horror movie in a theater usually calls for a hug of comfort. Mia called it 'clinging while screaming like a girl' and he argued that it was 'hugging' and not 'clinging' to save dignity. She laughed at that time and just let it go but would occasionally whisper lines from the movie to him in Italian just to annoy him. Still, though they didn't do often, hugs are welcome every now and then.

"You're starting to make me feel paranoid," Mia commented after a while.

"Sorry," he apologized. She shook her head, a bit exasperated.

"Honestly Tsuna, don't worry about it. It's no use if you let it bug you now. Just take it as it comes," she advised him.

Tsuna wanted to scoff that he couldn't stop it even if he wanted to but heeded her words all the same.

"All right, I won't worry about it." He could tell she was smiling without looking. "So," he casually drawled out. She raised her chin to look up at him. "When are we going to watch _Matilda_?"

Mia pretended to think about it. "My place after school?"

"Can we have tiramisu for dessert?"

"If you'll help me carry the groceries."

His answer flowed from his lips like air, "Sure."

* * *

><p>When Tsuna came home around eight, he was greeted with a strange sight of a baby with his mother. Actually, what made it strange was the fact that it was <em>talking<em>. It shouldn't be talking _or_ drinking coffee. He dropped his bag on the floor to go greet his mother, pecking her on the cheek – a custom that Mia often did when she came to his house – and wearily eyed the fedora-wearing baby with the big black beetle eyes.

"Who's this?" he asked, putting on a pleasantly surprised face.

"Oh Tsu-kun, this is Reborn-kun and he'll be staying us for a while," his mother happily explained.

"So… can I ask why?"

"Ciaossu, your father sent me to tutor you." Tsuna blinked then scowled at the mention of his father. He turned to the baby and placed his hands on his hips, trying to make himself intimidating (which he really wasn't).

"Very funny," he grounded out. "Sorry, but I've already have one."

"So I've heard," Reborn said. "Your mother already told me."

"Mom?" He rounded on to his mother. She nodded enthusiastically.

"Reborn-kun came all this way to tutor you. I couldn't just send him home after your father sent him here." Then she started to blush. "Oh honey is so thoughtful," she gushed. Tsuna – like any kid who has a lovey dovey parent – twisted his expression into disgust, which earned him a playful slap on the arm from his mother. "Tsu-kun!" she scolded him. "Honestly, don't you have a problem with your Japanese subjects? Reborn-kun says he's willing to teach you."

"I can manage on my own," Tsuna protested. "And what's in it for him?" He pointed at Reborn.

Quick like lighting, Reborn slapped his hand away with a green stick used to beat futons. Tsuna yelped and cradled his hand to his chest, glaring at the baby.

"All I need is a place to stay and some food to eat," Reborn said, his beetle eyes flashing.

Tsuna suddenly knew that the feeling he was feeling earlier on was because of _him_. He didn't know how or why but a talking baby really doesn't feel right either way. But why was he here? Did his father really send him? Was he really going to tutor him? Why now? Just who was this kid?

Nana clapped her hands together brightly. "Now that it's settled, Reborn-kun, I'm sure Tsu-kun wouldn't mind sharing his room with you."

Tsuna instantly protested but his mother wouldn't hear any of it and sent him off to his room to show their new _guest _where he would be sleeping. Sulking a bit, Tsuna slammed his door open, frustrated that his mother wouldn't listen. He dropped his bag on his desk and took a seat on his bed. He waited, wary of the baby that examined his room.

"So, you really are going to tutor me?" Tsuna said.

Reborn smirked, pulling the rim of his fedora down to hide half of his expression. Suddenly Tsuna had an uneasy feeling about this.

"Dame-Tsuna." He flinched at the nickname that he hadn't heard for in a while. "I was sent here from Italy to train you to become the next Mafia Don of the Vongola Famiglia."

That uneasy, queasy feeling he had? It blown up into disproportions that could only be fear, the kind of fear that could change everything he had ever known and loved so it wasn't a surprise when all he could manage was a dumb, "Eh?" Then when he could gather enough of his wits, "Eh" turned into "Hiiiiiiiieeeee!" although it was more of a long drawn out squeak. He could tell that Reborn was completely, downright serious. This was no joke.

"A Don? As in, a _Mafia Don?_"

He just noticed that Reborn had a lizard crawl out of his hat and to his hand. It was green and then it _transformed into a fucking gun_. His mind may have shut down from the shock because the gun was pointing straight at _his face_.

"I'm Reborn, the greatest hitman in the world. So Dame-Tsuna," The gun lowered and was used to straighten his fedora. Reborn smirked and said the next words that would change everything forever. "Prepare to be _Vongola Decimo_."

* * *

><p>It was around six-thirty in the morning that a ring broke the early silence. It hadn't even reached a third ring when a tired brunette answered it with an exhausted, "Hello?"<p>

_"What's up with you?" _Mia bluntly asked. Despite being tired, Tsuna managed to smile at her concern.

"No good morning?" he teased, getting up to rub his tired eyes.

_"Good morning – now what happened? You sound like you got mugged." _Mia always did go straight to the point. His mood instantly darkened. He hung his head, trying to recollect from last night. A surge of memories rose to the surface of his mind that forced him to contemplate on whether or not he should tell her. How do you explain to your best friend that they were next in line to be the boss of strongest mafia family ever?

_"Tsuna?" _Now there was a bit of worry in her tone. He tuned out her voice.

No, he didn't want her to get involved. If he really is the next heir then god knows what would happen – Mia could get kidnapped, even _killed_. An uncontrollable tremor went up his spine. Fear shot up and his heartbeat was suddenly all he could hear. A lot of unspeakable, _horrifying _thoughts started to plague his mind like a thick foggy cloud. He didn't want to, couldn't, _wouldn't _let anything happen to her.

_"Tsuna?"_

"Tsuna!" Mia suddenly busted through his door crying out his name like a war cry that startled him so much that he didn't even managed to react when she threw herself at him, knocking him down straight into the bed.

"What is the matter with you?" she hissed angrily into his ear. Then she pulled away to give him a look. "And why are you still in your uniform? Did you sleep in them?" She moved to sit on the edge of the bed and began fussing over him.

"Why are you so upset?" she asked, when she saw his expression. She looked at him, her blue eyes so worried that Tsuna suddenly couldn't part with her. He wanted to have her by his side; he wanted to remain friends with her. He realized that he was selfish. But damn it did he feel awful, he didn't get enough sleep last night, his head was aching and he just wanted a goddamn _hug_. Wordlessly he spread his arms and Mia sighed. She gave him a hug and he just settled on placing his chin on her shoulder. The smell of apples and books soothed him.

"I hate my life," he mumbled to her shoulder.

Her tone was dry when she replied, "Congratulations, you've just earned an achievement for teenage angst."

"You're ruining my moment here," he whined.

"I was only feeling twelve percent of your moment so forgive me for ruining it."

"Hey Mia?"

"Yeah?"

"Shut up and thanks."

She pulled back and mock-glared at him. "If that's how it's going to be then sorry I'm not sorry for breaking your door."

"What?!" he exclaimed and saw indeed, the knob was hanging ajar. "What did you do to it?" he demanded, scrambling up to get a closer look.

She shrugged. "I kicked it." Tsuna couldn't believe she broke the lock!

"We're you feeling the rest of the seventy-eight percent when you w_recked my door_?" he nagged at her. Mia paused, seriously considering it then nodded.

"In my defense I was worried," she quipped. He softened at that and gave a sigh. Running a hand through his hair he shot her a small smile which she returned.

"You two are adorable you know that?" Reborn piped up, appearing out of nowhere. Both of them jumped and Tsuna glowered at the hitman.

"Did that baby just talk?" Mia asked in a small voice.

"Yeah."

"Ciaossu!" Reborn greeted her. Mia waved at him hesitantly. Then to Tsuna she whispered, "Is it too late for me to feel one-hundred percent of your moment?"

Despite the tension in his body, his lips twitched upwards for a wryly smile.

Reborn, aware of their interaction, found it interesting how the girl stood _beside _Tsuna and not _behind _him. She didn't seek protection from him and didn't show fear for the unknown. From her stance and facial expression alone he could tell that girl thought she stood on equal ground. He found rather that he liked that.

He had researched for information the day before and found that Tsuna's grades only began to improve when he met Mia. He then did a background check on the girl and discovered that she was the daughter of two famous Italian archeologists, Nicola and Elaide Matteis. Her mother, Mrs. Elaide Matteis, died in an accident at an excavation site at the proving of Livorno, Tuscan Region of Italy while examining an old monastery seven years prior. A section of the floor gave away where Elaide had been standing during an unexpected earthquake and from there, fell twenty feet down to a cluster of jagged boulders. The monastery was actually built on top of a cliff that stood above the Mediterranean Sea. What caused the earthquake was unknown.

After that, Nicola Matteis retired to becoming a Professor. Having graduated from Oxford University, his reputation and complex research had moved him to North America for a while, then to Japan to work with an old colleague in Tokyo. He left his daughter at Namimori to take a break from the city life. Apparently, Mia got caught in a car accident at Washington. Minimal injuries, from what her medical records say. Nothing too serious but had her father decided to move. The girl didn't have friends that much either, something that both of them share. From that, Reborn concluded that she was clean and had no ties to the mafia whatsoever.

It was kind of disappointing. If she were the daughter of a Mafia Don, her marriage to Tsuna would have strengthened the ties between their families and would have assured a long standing ally. But alas, she was just the daughter of two brilliant researchers and in Reborn's book that was good enough to be qualified for being a bride. Plus, she's smart which is a nice bonus. Just thinking about it had Reborn planning a bridal training itinerary that would be parallel with Tsuna's Mafia Boss' training.

With this, Reborn had concocted a plan to train both of them at the same time while having them bond more to each other until they have mutual feelings. Two birds with one stone.

Oh yeah.

"Why is he smirking like that? I don't like it." Mia whispered to Tsuna.

"Ever wonder why the devil is evil?" Tsuna retorted back. "He doesn't need a reason to be evil."

"Shut up, the both of you," Reborn said and pointed his gun at Tsuna. Mia looked confused yet tensed and eyed the weapon wearily. Good, Reborn thought. She had a good head on her shoulders. She didn't even comment on why a baby was talking.

"I was gonna wake you up but Ms. Matteis here beat me to it." He sighed sadly. "Leon is so disappointed too. He wanted to turn into a hundred-pound mallet for me to hit you with."

Tsuna spluttered, "_Hundred-pound mallet?_" the same time Mia asked, "Who's Leon?"

Reborn redrew his gun and it turned back into a green chameleon. "This is my partner, Leon. He's a shape-shifting chameleon." He introduced him, lifting his hand to give the girl a closer look. He gauged her reaction, seeing the wonder and curiosity shining through her eyes.

"Mmm-mmn." She said.

"That's all you're going to say?" Tsuna demanded.

Mia ignored him and looked straight into Reborn's eyes. "Who are you?" she asked, genuinely curious and not a shred of suspicion. Not breaking eye contact once, he replied, "I'm Reborn and I'll be tutoring Tsuna to be a Mafia Boss."

Tsuna made that annoying noise again while Mia froze. She slowly turned to look at Tsuna and said, "You're a mafia boss?"

"I don't want to!" He said, shaking his head furiously.

"Dame-Tsuna, I told you already," Reborn said warningly. "You're the only heir alive so man up and take it."

"Thanks but no thanks," Tsuna deadpanned. Leon transformed into a gun again and Reborn pointed at his new student who flinched at the sight of it.

"You'll change your mind soon enough," Reborn said, still pointing the gun threateningly.

"Well then gentlemen," Mia suddenly spoke up. She was pale, but there was a determined glint in her eyes that stopped both males from continuingly to aggravate each other. She stood between them. "This was… an interesting way to start the day but breakfast is _very important._" She sternly poked Tsuna on the chest.

"Get ready and I'll meet you downstairs," she ordered him. Tsuna looked like he wanted to argue but decided it wasn't worth it and went away to take a shower.

"Fine, fine," he muttered as he left.

She then turned to Reborn. "I don't know what's going on yet and I'm assuming Nana-san doesn't know so I'll have Tsuna tell me about it later but anyway, have you had breakfast yet Reborn?"

"Nope."

"Then what are you waiting for?"

* * *

><p>To say that Mia was shocked was an understatement. Her best friend turns out to be a descendant of the founder of the most powerful syndicate family in the world and only heir. What the hell. Will wonders ever cease? What's even more shocking than that is the talking baby that is presumed as the greatest hitman in the world and is under orders to groom her friend into a Don. No wonder Tsuna was so upset and to be frank, she wasn't feeling any better as well.<p>

To think that Tsuna would get involved with something like that… it seriously made her worried for his sake. Funny enough, Tsuna seemed to be in the same predicament. They were walking to school – with Reborn annoyingly following them – when they came across Kyoko. She beamed at the sight of them. While Mia forced a smile, Tsuna genuinely brightened at the sight of the girl.

"Good morning Kyoko-chan!" he greeted her.

"Good morning Tsuna-kun, Mia-chan." Kyoko replied, smiling.

"Roses are red, violets are blue, it's great seeing you, so morning to you too," Mia said. Kyoko and Tsuna both clapped for her and she gave them a bow.

In Reborn's inner thoughts, a similar poem ran through his head. _Roses are red, Violets are blue, an arrange marriage is waiting for you… _He smirked.

"Ara? Who's this little guy?" Kyoko spotted Reborn and ran towards him.

"Ciaossu, I'm Reborn."

"Awww… he's so cute! Is he your little brother?" Mia nudged Tsuna, giving him a look that clearly said 'can you believe this shit?' He frowned.

"No, he's somebody else's."

"I'm not cute, I'm a hitman," Reborn said at the same time.

"I see, I see," Kyoko apologized and stood up. Turning to look back at Tsuna, she said "I'll go ahead now; Hana-chan is waiting for me. See you at school Tsuna-kun, Mia-chan!" Hastily, she left while quickly typing into her phone. Tsuna stared longingly at her leaving figure and sighed. Mia patted him comfortingly on the shoulder. He gave her an annoyed look but didn't shrug her hand off.

Interesting, Reborn thought. Tsuna is close with Mia yet has a crush on Kyoko. He could just imagine the complications it would bring – which made his smirk grow wider. Well, speeding things up wouldn't hurt.

Mia nudged Tsuna again. "Look, he's smirking again," she whispered.

"I don't feel so well all of a sudden," Tsuna confessed.

Annoyed that they were talking behind his back, he pointed his gun at Tsuna's head. "Tsuna, I suggest you go and confess to Sasagawa Kyoko with your Dying Will."

"What?" both of them exclaimed.

"Die." _BANG! _Then Tsuna dropped dead.

"What did you do to him?" Mia screeched. "I thought you were here to tutor him, not kill him!"

"Wait for it," Reborn advised her.

A second later, Tsuna rose up like Dracula, a flame igniting on his forehead. "CONFESS TO KYOKO-CHAN WITH MY DYING WILL!" he shouted wildly, then at that moment his clothes came off leaving him in his underwear. He then ran off to school at an unbelievable speed.

_"Non è il mio migliore amico solo flash?" _Mia asked herself blankly (_"Did my best friend just flashed me?"_).

_"Sì, sì l'ha ditto,"_ Reborn smugly told her (_"Yes, yes he did")_.

She shook her head and went to find Tsuna. When she found him, she had just seen Kyoko running away screaming and Mochida-sensei challenge Tsuna to a duel for Kyoko's hand. The fire on his head was extinguished and he was left with nothing but his boxers. People were whispering to each other, things that she didn't like, and Mia decided to shove them aside. He looked so _humiliated _that she felt bad.

"Tsuna!" she called but he didn't even look at her.

"What are you herbivores crowding around here for?" Hibari suddenly appeared. People suddenly left until it was just the two of them and the murderous prefect. He eyed Tsuna but didn't question his state of dress and instead turned to address Mia.

"Classes will start soon," he told her and left.

Mia smiled faintly at the prefect. "He's not too bad after all," she muttered and turned back to Tsuna. Reborn came flying down on a parachute and from there, began to explain that what he did earlier was called a Dying Will Bullet. At least he brought spare clothes for Tsuna.

After that, Mia couldn't help but comment blandly on it. "Second chance for the price of dignity?"

"Yup!" Reborn chirped.

"Well I'm not going to fight Mochida-sempai," Tsuna announced, after buttoning his shirt.

"Why not?" Mia questioned him.

"Because I'll just lose," Tsuna told her. Taking his bag from her, he squared his shoulders like a man getting ready for execution and left to go to the classroom. Mia ran to catch up with him.

"Tsuna, I think you need to consider," she said. "Mochida was acting like a dick. It's time somebody brought his ego down to size." She said the last part darkly. Tsuna raised an eyebrow at her.

"What happened to you?" he wondered.

She scowled. "Something annoyingly unpleasant."

He was gonna ask more but then they were in front of the classroom and the whole class was jeering at him. He flushed pink and tried to ignore them all. He was thankful that Mia didn't snap at them and just supported him silently; he couldn't handle her temper right now although he did wonder why she didn't like Mochida so much.

He tried to be discreet as his classes passed by in time. Mia often slipped him notes in Italian, giving him a lot of valid reason to show up.

_1. __Mochida has an ego the size of Mount Fuji. _Well that's true, but someone else could do it.

_2. __He treats Kyoko-san like an object! _Now that he thought about it, it made him a bit mad.

_3. __He's trying to social press her into a relationship! _How deep did Mia think about this?

_4. __If you don't get your ass into that gym after school you will regret it for the rest of your life. _Mia followed it with another note.

_5. __Because you let him walk all over you like you're nothing but that's not true at all._

That must be the real reason why she was mad at Mochida, Tsuna thought. Mia hated his self-depreciating habit. But… it wasn't enough to convince him, and then Mia slipped him one last piece of paper.

_6. __I know you can do it._

Without knowing it himself, he was there at the gym after school. The whole student body seemed to be watching him and Mochida. His senpai had just explained that they were going to battle each other using kendo and Tsuna panicked. Could he really do this? He caught sight of Kyoko, then Mia who was glowering darkly at Mochida. Wow, she really did hate him. Then Mochida turned and saw her and then he _winked_.

Holy mother of fuck that bastard was _hitting on Mia_. On his _best friend_.

Something inside him switched and then he suddenly felt determined to go through with the match.

Meanwhile, Mia flipped the bird at Mochida in response then met with Tsuna's eyes. Her expression faltered, realizing that Tsuna caught her and Mochida's exchange. Her shoulders dropped and she awkwardly shuffled on her feet.

How long was this going on? Tsuna demanded in his mind. Mochida wanted to date Kyoko but was flirting with Mia? Oh it was so on.

Tsuna still wasn't sure that he could beat him but at least he'll go down trying. If worse comes to worse, he'll just tackle him to the ground. Turns out he didn't need to as half-way through the match he had been shot by a Dying Will Bullet. He beat Mochida and rendered him bald. Despite the fact that he was almost naked, he felt good. People congratulated him and Kyoko thanked him heartily for defending her honor.

Mia gave him a sly look when Kyoko left. He shoved her lightly, knowing what was on her mind. She laughed and handed him some spare clothes which he took gratefully.

"Thanks," she said softly, smiling warmly at him.

He could feel his cheeks reddening and he covered it up by distracting himself as he buttoned his shirt.

"You're welcome."

Up above the balcony, Reborn was watching the whole thing from above and smirked. Oh it was going to be so _fun_ to mess with these two. A sudden thought occurred to him then, he remembered some girl hiding in the bushes when they met up with Kyoko this morning. Her eyes were sparkling while she watched him and Reborn suddenly had another girl to factor into this love triangle. The coming day started to become so much more appealing. 

* * *

><p><strong>I didn't expect it to get a little bit angsty but that's where my writing led me. Oh well, so how was my take on the first episode? Good? Bad? Was Tsuna OOC? Sorry if I didn't use the original dialogue, I was too lazy to add it in anyway. <strong>

**Translation: **

**_Non è il mio migliore amico solo flash? - _Did my best friend just flashed me?**

**_Sì, sì l'ha ditto - _Yes, yes he did.**

**Correction from my previous chapter, I seemed to have mistaken the timeline a bit. Reborn's arrival was actually are early July. Apparently, from July 20 till August something is when Japanese kids have their summer vacation. I gotta fit a whole lot of shit under those times lol. **

**REVIEWS MAKE ME HAPPY!**


	6. Family Members Acquired

**So I'd like to explain a few things.**

**First, I will not do character introductions per chapter. They take too long and I just want to do the parts which are heavily influenced by change. **

**Second, assume that the stuff that I didn't mention happens as they do in canon**

**and thirdly, Mia will not be an active fighter. She's a brains over brawn character and will rely on her smarts to keep herself alive and kicking. She will not be no way in hell, sidelined like Kyoko and Haru are and no I will not have her be magically gifted with a certain fighting style. So she won't be able to beat the shit out of other people, she'll still be kicking ass. I can promise that much. I like her 'realism' so I plan on keeping her that way. **

**This chapter contains the introductions of these characters: Gokudera, Yamamoto, Lambo and Bianchi.**

**Enjoy!**

**Disclaimer: I don't own KHR but I do own a blue-ray of Kick-Ass**

* * *

><p><strong>Meeting Smoking Bomb Hayato<strong>

The next day, Tsuna and Mia were graced with the presence of another Italian – this one more openly hostile than Hibari. The silver-haired Gokudera Hayato just oozed delinquent when he came into class. Good-looking, scorching glare and practically your foreign bad boy, he had girls dropping panties without doing anything. Mia was very tense that morning, shoulders rising like the hackles of a cat when Gokudera kicked Tsuna's desk over. He took a seat right behind hers. Mia felt that she could do without having a hostile seating right behind her who could possibly be a Mafioso.

While the rest of the girls were fangirling over him, she was very tired and promptly expressed it when called to stand up during English where her teacher had her converse with him in English to show the class. Well, having a Mafioso behind her and an annoying teacher who _pronounces English wrong_ then flaunts it like a medal – it was an insult to her to intellect.

She slipped easily enough to her American accent – talking with her father's co-workers we're a blessing – and waited for her teacher to begin first. Needless to say, it ended with her having to meet with the teacher after school for a brief talk on how it was wrong for her to lecture her teacher on his job. It was so totally worth it, she would say later on after Tsuna saved Gokudera.

After the racket of explosions, Mia quickly went to find the two boys and only managed to see the last part of Gokudera vowing his undying loyalty. Tsuna looked hilariously uncomfortable at the predicament he was in, especially since he was just in his underwear. Good thing in foresight Mia brought him one of his jackets before they went to school and walked steadily to the two boys.

"Does this mean that we're good?" she announced loudly.

Gokudera jumped and quickly pulled out – _were those real? _– dynamite, and then lowered it when Tsuna made no move of surprise and instead sent a grateful smile at the blonde girl as he took a jacket from her. He faintly remembered that her name was Mia and that she was from Italy as well.

"She's clean, I checked," Reborn added, choosing to make his presence known by sitting on top of Tsuna's head.

Mia frowned at that. "I knew you would do a background check on me," she muttered loudly.

"Did you? You never looked like it," Reborn said.

Mia shrugged, "I figured it was in the job description. You said you would tutor Tsuna ergo you'd need him alive. After all, he is _Vongola Decimo,_" she sing-sang haughtily. Tsuna swiped at her.

"Don't call me that," he growled. Gokudera watched as his boss go from well… a weak-somewhat-strong individual to a carefree teasing teen. Judging from their interaction, they were close.

Reborn on the other hand looked pleased by her guess, "It's good that you're not as naïve as Dame-Tsuna here."

"Hey!" Tsuna protested. Mia smiled faintly.

"You can never be too careful after all," Mia earnestly said. Why she said it the way she did, Gokudera didn't know although he had a feeling she had an experience for her to learn it. The boss suddenly asked her why she got held up for so long and she replied with self-satisfaction that she had landed herself for cleaning duty for punishment. Gokudera could recall earlier today that she schooled their teacher in his own class. There was respect there, combined with awe at the boss' girl. He approached them slowly.

"Gokudera Hayato," she greeted him wryly when he was close. "You're not going to blow me up right?" she asked.

"No!" Gokudera exclaimed, horrified that she had come to that conclusion.

Mia chuckled. "Good, I didn't want dynamite to _bang _me up anyways."

There are a lot of ways one could have taken that. For Tsuna, being exposed to her puny side the most; he had brushed it off as a terrible pun (which it was). For Gokudera though, it made him turn bright red all the way to the roots of his hair. He had interpreted it – in his imagination – that the words she spoke were flirtatiously suggestive. Reborn just looked like the whole world just exists to entertain him.

"B-B-Bang…? I would never!" He stammered, blushing.

She raised an eyebrow at his peculiar reaction and laughed.

"I don't get it," Tsuna stated, confused why Mia was laughing. She shook her head at him and turned to give Gokudera a more relaxed smile.

"I'm sorry," she apologized sincerely. "That was a bad pun to say."

"It's alright," Gokudera mumbled.

"I still don't get it," Tsuna huffed.

"Best not to think about it Tsuna," Reborn said. "Now that Gokudera is part of your Family, you should go bond over it."

"Bond?" Tsuna exchanged glances with Mia.

"So… anyone up for a movie?" She suggested, grinning.

The three of them were surprised to know that both Mia and Gokudera shared the same apartment complex, meaning they were automatic next-door neighbors. Later that night, after watching _Kick-Ass_, Tsuna left to go home after insisting that he didn't need to be escorted. Gokudera hunched his shoulders, dejected at having his offer refused.

"Reborn told me you wanted to be Tsuna's right-hand man," Mia said from the doorway. Gokudera jumped, he had forgotten that she was still there. He blushed in her presence, still embarrassed from before. She had proven herself to be quite a match to the Tenth in both compassion and in kindness though he was forced to admit she had a strange sense of humor.

"Yes I do!" He saluted.

She smiled faintly. "Good, he'll need someone to watch his back when I'm not around."

Gokudera was elated but he frowned at her, finding her response a bit strange. Catching up to his expression, Mia explained "I'm not a fighter Gokudera. There might come a time when Tsuna would need people to stand by his side – as much as I hate to say – and he'll need someone like you. To him, I'll be more of a burden."

"No you're not!" Gokudera couldn't help himself saying. Mia leaned backwards at his sudden exclamation.

"Um… okay." She blinked.

"I meant that Tenth would never see you that way," Gokudera said. He felt confident at his words, knowing that they were true. Mia stared at him and smiled.

"You know Gokudera, it comforts me that we're neighbors," she said. "Ever since I found out about the Mafia, I was a bit worried. Having you around makes me feel safer when I sleep at night." She grinned at him.

Gokudera couldn't help smiling back like an overenthusiastic puppy. "I would be honored to have you think of me such a way!" He bowed graciously before her.

"Stop that will you?" she hissed at him, embarrassed at the devoted-puppy look he was giving. "It makes me feel weird."

"Hai!" Mia sighed.

"Goodnight then Gokudera."

"Don't worry Matteis-sama, you have my word I will protect you and Tenth with my life!"

Mia closed the door and leaned against it. Hopefully Gokudera didn't really mean all that. That night, Gokudera was giddy with happiness. He had the boss' girl's support to be the Tenth's right-hand man!

* * *

><p><strong>Yamamoto, the Baseball Ace<strong>

Mia was watching Tsuna sympathetically from the sidelines. The boys were playing baseball and it looked like nobody wanted him on their team. If Gokudera was here, he would have been raising hell but he was absent to restock his dynamite supply. Yamamoto Takeshi, the baseball ace of their school had taken Tsuna, she saw. He had his arm slung over Tsuna's shoulders and Mia felt that if Yamamoto could be friends with him, it would have been nice.

Girls suddenly cheered from either side of her and she winced at the high pitches. Yamamoto waved at them while Tsuna grimaced. Mia laughed at his pitiful form and decided to cheer him up. She raised her arm in salute and loudly said, "_Buona fortuna!_" (_"Good luck!"_)

Being the only one who could understand her, Tsuna managed a smile at least. He felt light despite his teammates blaming him for their loss and ended getting clean-up duty. He had sent Mia to go on without him and wasn't expecting to have a short talk with Yamamoto Takeshi. From there, it was a set of chain events that led them to this situation now.

It was a rush of feet and panic that had half the student population on the roof. Tsuna and Mia had arrived, just as they were pleading with Yamamoto to not jump. Then the baseball ace said something about the baseball god throwing him away and Mia _was so done with that bullshit. _As if there was a baseball god anyway.

"Tsuna, what should we do?" She turned around to find him cowering in a corner. "Tsuna?" She rushed to him and noticed that he had his fists curled angrily.

"This… this is all my fault." Tsuna had his head bowed deeply. "If I hadn't talked with Yamamoto… he wouldn't… wouldn't…"

"Then don't run away." Reborn cocked his gun at him. Mia hardly cared of the absurdity that happened around it, Reborn comes as he pleases anywhere, anytime.

"Hiieeee! Time out! Time out!" Tsuna waved his arms frantically.

Feeling a rise of irritation, Mia yanked Tsuna towards the crowd. "Mia?" Tsuna tried to take his arm back but her grip tightened.

"You say it's your fault. Do you really want to regret this Tsuna?" She elbowed people aside. Their angry outbursts following them yet Mia didn't even hint that she heard them. "Don't let Yamamoto do this, please."

He heard the plead in her voice, the desperation that cracked through her guarded walls. He looked into her eyes and saw a myriad of emotions flashing through them so fast he couldn't follow. She was right, he thought. He didn't want to regret this or see Yamamoto throw his life away for something so silly. They broke through the crowd and Mia let go of his wrist.

"Yamamoto!" Tsuna called out.

The teen in question faced him, a bitter smile on his face. "If you're going to stop me, it's no use. You understand right?" Yamamoto looked at him hopefully.

A cold bitter stone dropped into his stomach. Tsuna understood, he really did, but he never broke down. He was sure he would have been in the same place if he hadn't met Mia. He glanced briefly at her and saw her grievous expression. Her blue eyes shone brightly.

"Actually… no." He slowly looked back at Yamamoto. "I understand how you're feeling but I wouldn't give my life just like that."

"Cut the crap!" Yamamoto yelled. "Just because you're a fine student now doesn't mean you get to be arrogant as opposed to me who has lost everything!"

"I only got that way because someone cared enough to give me a chance!" Tsuna yelled back. "I wouldn't have been able to be more than 'Dame-Tsuna' if it wasn't for my friend!" He marched straight up, the fence only serving as the wall between them.

Yamamoto regarded him with cold eyes. "Well good for you," he spat. "At least you have friends."

Tsuna realized that this was more than just baseball. Yamamoto was actually _lonely_. Still…

"Does your Dad mean anything to you?" He asked him quietly. A sad, painful scene from a movie he had watched together with Mia reminded him of this sudden thought. He remembered that her eyes were shining then like it did now. "Do you have _any idea _what this will do to him?"

"Dad…?" Yamamoto slowly comprehended what he said, as if he had never thought about it before. That fueled Tsuna to egg on. "I… I never…"

"Yamamoto," he gently said. The teen met his eyes. "No parent would want to bury their own child before they die."

"Oh…" Yamamoto said in a whisper, his tone broken at the realization. "I didn't want to worry him."

"Then come on," Tsuna said. "Don't stay there Yamamoto. I know things are worse now but trust me," he looked back at Mia. Yamamoto followed his gaze. "Things _will_ get better."

Yamamoto nodded slowly. "Okay," he said. Then a bit more strongly, "Okay." Tsuna helped him clamber over the chain fence then the whole school suddenly crowded around them, voicing their thoughts and worries. Tsuna easily slipped away to head down to the halls, where he walked morosely back to the classroom. He didn't expect Mia to be waiting for him outside. When she saw him, he automatically opened his arms just in time for her to jump into them.

"_Sono davvero orgoglioso di voi_," she said (_"I'm so proud of you."_). Tsuna didn't say anything and just buried his head in her hair.

Yamamoto Takeshi went to look for Tsuna, to thank him, when he walked in on the two just as they were hugging each other. He heard her say something in a different language. He couldn't understand it but he saw how Tsuna's tensed frame loosened in her hold. He stayed there, leaning against the wall until they parted. When he came out to greet them, he gave them his most genuine smile.

After that, Yamamoto joined their group to the displeasure of Gokudera. To Tsuna's exasperation, Yamamoto treated their situation like a game. Mia slapped him behind the head, hoping for the baseball ace to understand that this was real and it's serious. He just grinned at them and laughed it off.

Reborn nodded approvingly. Another family member acquired.

* * *

><p><strong>The Humerously-named Family's Cow<strong>

Mia wonders how much crazy they had to qualify for insane. First Gokudera, then Yamamoto and now a child in a cow print suit that threw grenades and snot while claiming to be a hitman to assassinate Reborn. They were having a study session at Tsuna's house – just the two of them – with Reborn overseeing their work when the kid broke down Tsuna's door with all of the intention of coming in like Rambo and killing everyone and anything.

It turns out the cow was from the Bovino Famiglia and that his name was Lambo. Unfortunately for him, Reborn treated him like trash, not even bothering to acknowledge his existence. He cried and threw a tantrum. That is, bring out an active grenade from within his afro. Reborn made quick work, throwing out the kid and the grenade out the window. After the grenade exploded, they heard Lambo cry. Both of them pitied Lambo and went out to calm the kid before he decided to take out more bombs.

A few days later, Lambo was happily staying with Tsuna – how that arrangement worked, Mia didn't bother to ask – and came to school one day to challenge Reborn. Gokudera and Yamamoto we're arguing who was to be the right man, when Lambo popped up. Before he did anything, Reborn already had knocked him flat on his ass and crying.

"That's child abuse right there," Mia pointed out.

"You're going to do anything about it?" Reborn challenged her.

"Not at the moment, no."

Then Lambo pulled out – _that is some messed up shit right there _– a purple bazooka from his afro and shot himself with it. A huge plum of purple gas filled the area that had them all coughing.

"What the hell?" Gokudera exclaimed. The smoke cleared and where Lambo was, a teenager around their age stood. He was a suave boy immediately, Mia could tell. Then Reborn explained that what just happened was the Ten-Year Bazooka and the effect of it. How it switches the user with himself ten years into the future.

"I know I've seen a lot of things happen that I still have trouble believing but this is just some straight-up _bullshit_," Mia said, dumbfounded.

Reborn smacked her behind the head. "A lady does not swear," he said. Mia glared at him.

"Yare, yare, my past self sure does cause a lot of trouble," Lambo spoke up.

"Um…" Tsuna was as dumbfounded as Mia was.

"He sure as hell did!" Gokudera snapped at the teen. "You're a pain in the ass you know that?"

"Maa, maa Gokudera. Cut him some slack – he hadn't even done anything yet!" Yamamoto laughed.

What happened next was completely unbelievable. Lambo had attacked Reborn with a skill that literally brought lighting down. Mia thought he was going to get it then proved why he was the strongest hitman in the world. He beat Lambo easily like a snap and the teen left, tail between his legs and sobbing grossly in defeat. Well, Mia thought when future Lambor reverted back to present Lambo, that anything can happen no matter how stupid or absurd it is.

* * *

><p><strong>Poison Scorpion<strong>

Mia was severely pissed. She didn't care if it was Gokudera's sister and a hitman – she'll fucking rip out that entire woman's pretty hair. No one, _no one _ruins her homemade lunch. She put effort in that! She was grinding her teeth throughout class after lunch. Tsuna kept shooting her worried looks but she ignored all of it. During break, she dragged Gokudera outside with Tsuna and Yamamoto following her, curious at what she was going to do.

"Ah… Mia?" Tsuna hesitantly called out.

She whirled around with an expression of an angry tiger that had Gokudera retract his steps. "Matteis-sama?" He said, startled at the face of her tenancy.

"Call me Mia Gokudera – I'm not some high ranking person like Tsuna is," she snapped at him. Poor Gokudera, who couldn't retort that _she is _someone important, merely gaped at her. Similar expressions were mirrored on Tsuna and Yamamoto just laughed.

"Mia-chan sure is something? Ne Tsuna?" He nudged the brunette.

"Now," she poked Gokudera on the chest. "Tell me how to find your sister."

"What?!" Tsuna and Gokudera exclaimed at the same time. She crossed her arms and arched an eyebrow.

"I want to find your sister." She repeated.

"No, nee-chan would kill you for sure!" Gokudera stared at her the same time Tsuna angrily said, "Are you being stupid?"

She pinned him with a glare that the one who was obviously being stupid here was him and it infuriated Tsuna. Mia had never been brash but now she decided it was a good idea when a hitman was after him? He bristled at her. Before he could express why she was being stupid, Mia raised a finger.

"Bianchi can't kill me," she declared confidently. They stared.

"And uh… how do you suppose that is?" Gokudera asked, perplexed by her logic.

"Because I mean something to Tsuna, who happens to be the future boss of the Vongola Family; now if she kills me, Tsuna would inevitably hate the mafia and would never become the boss which in Reborn's case will put him in a very difficult position and so, Reborn would not let me die." She stared at them, daring for them to challenge her claim.

There was a clap and they all swirled around to see Reborn clapping his hands together.

"Nicely put Mia. You're right – it would be hard to convince Dame-Tsuna if you get killed" he praised her.

"What the hell Mia!?" Tsuna glowered at her. She gave him a cool look.

"So you don't care at all?"

"What?!" Tsuna gaped at her. "I do care that's why this is so stupid!" He childishly stomped on the ground.

"Trust me Tsuna, I'm always right." She smiled triumphantly at him.

He deflated because he knew she was right… _again_. God he was starting to hate that. Also, he hated it how all she had to do was freaking s_mile_ and he'd go out like a candle. Defeated, he sulked towards Yamamoto who patted him comfortingly at the back.

"So Gokudera, how can I lure that vixen out?" Gokudera looked at loss at what to say to her.

"Actually, you can't do anything about it either though Mia," Reborn spoke up.

Mia sharply looked down on him.

Reborn continued, "While it's certainly true that I won't let you die, you could suffer some long-term effects or trauma like Gokudera did."

"Yes!" Tsuna cheered. Glad that someone would convince her that it was a bad idea.

Indignantly, Mia said "But I want to get back at her!"

Reborn gave her a look. "And then what? Challenge her to a duel?"

Mia looked stricken for a moment, like she hadn't actually thought it out so well as she think she did. "Um…"

"If you can't plan that far ahead then Tsuna was right too, you are stupid."

Tsuna didn't know what to feel – Reborn just said he was right but he called Mia stupid as well, which she really wasn't because she was _Mia_. In the end it was the right thing for her, he thought woefully. He hoped she would forgive him.

Mia flushed at the rebuke. "Well I'm sorry, I'll just remember to plan twenty steps ahead with four back-up plans next time!" she hotly said.

"Why are you so bothered with Bianchi?" Reborn questioned her. "It's just a homemade lunch."

Mia bit her lip then replied in a final, curt tone, "Because she spat on something I loved to do."

Knowing that she had lost the argument, she turned on her heel and marched right back to class. People parted away from her like the red sea while she fumed past them. Reborn sighed and pulled down his fedora.

* * *

><p>Gokudera could not believe the pure nerve of Mia Matteis. Sure, his first impression of her was that she was snarky little thing but then he learned that Mia turned out to be someone who was the Tenth's best friend. She definitely deserved that title although he secretly wondered why the two weren't dating. Maybe they hadn't realized their feelings for each other; he concluded which put both him and the baseball freak into the same conclusion. They both decided separately on their own to let things go their natural course.<p>

Gokudera just worried that Mia might not live too long because she was currently arguing with his sister. After collapsing on the floor when he entered the Sawada household and saw Bianchi, the familiar churn of foam rose up to his mouth and he had been there ever since. The tenth was trying to pacify Mia – who forcefully blackmailed Gokudera into addressing her that or else be hated – into backing off before Bianchi decided to melt her face off with her poison cooking.

Bianchi huffed and arrogantly whipped her hair. "Don't be mad because you're cooking lost to mine," she said.

"Lost? You can poison anything just from touching them!" Mia glared at Bianchi.

Yamamoto wisely stayed back and decided to help Gokudera up. He usually stops people from fighting but Mia was livid and he _did not_ want to be in the middle of that cat fight. God bless Tsuna for trying even though he was failing. Both women ignored him.

"You lack love little girl." She then squealed at how her love for Reborn made her strong.

"Love?" Mia repeated, outraged. "You don't even understand what it is!"

Bianchi narrowed her eyes dangerously. Mia didn't falter from her stance; her blue eyes glinted with resolution. Neither backed down as static sparks flew between each other.

"You claim you know what love is?" Bianchi stepped closer to her and stared her down intimidating.

Mia copied her action likewise and looked up to the woman. Her blue eyes conveyed so much emotion that it surprised Bianchi for a second before she schooled her features into a calmer, cautious one. When Mia spoke, her voice was thick.

"My _mother _taught me how to cook. I cook because it reminded me of _home_."

Tsuna had gone quiet, staring at Mia in shock. Bianchi felt her cold hitman mask crumble at the girl's spirit. Suddenly, the girl before her looked like a sad child, with wide blue eyes that could swallow the hardest of hearts.

"You ruined the lunch I made and it was a waste," Mia spat bitterly. "I know it's stupid to get angry at something like this but I was really excited to have the others try Pa's potato wedges."

"Wait, your Dad came home?" Tsuna asked.

For the first time since the argument started, Mia actually took notice of him. She nodded miserably. "Yeah," she mumbled. "But he had to leave again for Okinawa this time. He made those for dinner – it's the only thing he can make actually." She said the last part with a hint of nostalgia.

Bianchi sighed, quite regretful of her actions. Mia may not understand that love for someone special, but she did understand what familial love is. Her heart was in the right place and Bianchi couldn't fault her for that. A surge of affection rose and she suddenly pulled the younger girl to smother her against her bosom, to the shock of everyone around them.

"_Cosa in Gandalf's shaggy vesti?_" Mia exclaimed, just as shocked as the rest of them (_"What in the name of Gandalf's shaggy robes?"_).

"_Mi dispiace, è stato un errore, mi hanno fatto che,_" Bianchi replied in kind (_"I'm sorry, I shouldn't have done that."_). Her tone was softer and warmer, to Mia's confusion when she looked up. She opened her mouth to say something but decided on something else instead.

"Does this mean you won't try to kill Tsuna?"

Bianchi actually laughed. Gokudera had managed to stay conscious and translate for the benefit of the idiot, but was limp against Yamamoto's side. He made a strange sound – a cross between a grunt and being strangled – in response to Bianchi's laugh. Bianchi fondly brushed a stray blonde lock behind Mia's ear. She sighed, a bit regretful.

"_Se questo ti rende felice,_" Bianchi said (_"If it makes you happy.."_). Mia hugged her tightly back, absolute joy in her expression.

After that, Bianchi had stayed at the Sawada household, adding another strange person to Tsuna's life. But he couldn't really hate her, despite her attempts to poison him. Bianchi said she would stay for Reborn although both he and Tsuna knew that she had grown to like Mia as well. Tsuna was immensely grateful because he wasn't going to fear his own meals and also because Bianchi served to be an older-sister figure to Mia.

Gokudera seemed in league with Tsuna's thoughts, as he was staring with awe at Mia. She was animatedly chatting with his sister – who wore goggles under Reborn's request – teaching the younger girl of the many poisons that she could utilize. She was certainly something to marvel at. Beside him, Yamamoto (to Gokudera's undying irk) laughed and played with Lambo.

Nana was merely happy at the sight of so many people having dinner at their home. Reborn watched over Tsuna's ever growing family and had to admit the charisma that the boy had. With certain training, he'll grow to be very influential. Mia, on the other hand, had her own brand of charisma. She was a passionate little thing. He hadn't expected her to win Bianchi over but it just proved all the more that she would be a great match.

He stole a piece of food from Tsuna while simultaneously thinking that Tsuna's real training would begin. He had progressed well in his Japanese subjects, despite being blown up for getting the wrong answer every now and then. But with that certain aspect left to Mia, Reborn could advance on teaching the both of them social etiquette and Mafia history. Before that though, Tsuna would have to meet someone. Reborn needed a daily dose of entertainment after all.

* * *

><p><strong>Slap in the Name of Justice! (and kawaii babies)<strong>

The next day, a girl referring to herself in third-person showed up who slapped Tsuna for no reason. She claimed that Tsuna was corrupting innocent babies and that scum like him should go drown and die. She didn't get off for insulting him because Mia began to swear at her in rapid-fire Italian before any of the others could do anything.

Needless to say, the strange girl branded Mia a 'Yankee' and ran away with a promise to save Reborn from the clutches of an evil teenager.

Mia slowly turned to Reborn, staring at him accusingly. He merely smirked in reply.

* * *

><p><strong>I'll admit, Lambo's character is always the hardest character for me to write. I was a quiet kid so writing obnoxious little kids aren't relatable to me. If any of you guys wonder why I skipped the majority of some of these episodes, read my Author's note at the very beginning.<strong>

**Got any questions for me? Just put it in the review! **

**Translation:**

**_Buona fortuna! - _Good luck!**

**_Sono davvero orgoglioso di voi - _I'm so proud of you.**

**_Cosa in Gandalf's shaggy vesti? - _What in Gandalf's shaggy robes?**

**_Mi dispiace, è stato un errore, mi hanno fatto che - _I'm sorry, I shouldn't have done that**

**_Se questo ti rende felice - _If it makes you happy**

**REVIEWS ARE GREATLY APPRECIATED**

**BECAUSE I HAVE SCHOOL TOMORROW, IF I SEE A REVIEW IT WOULD REALLY MAKE ME HAPPY**

**LOL**

**(I'm such a review whore)**

**(HA)**


	7. To Protect One's Own

**Okay from here on out, shit will get real. I skipped some things I deemed unimportant and made a big deal out of one event. Some episodes of the daily arc would be mentioned and some scenes from the manga as well (because it's a shame not to include them). I'll also mention that I'll be updating a bit more slowly now because I have school work and TU to deal with. **

**Sorry guys but as Mia would say, shit happens.**

**Disclaimer: I don't own KHR but I do own a Potter wand.**

* * *

><p>Tsuna was stuck. Not literally, mind you. But without Mia, he couldn't figure out how to solve this particular problem that Reborn presented to him. She had gone to the market on a shopping trip on the insistence of his Mother. She couldn't say no obviously so Tsuna's study session for the day consisted of Reborn's hellish tutoring. He was thankful at least that Gokudera and Yamamoto had joined him. Turns out Gokudera was a genius and could have answered the problem if Reborn hadn't knocked him out. Right now the bomber was lying down on his bed.<p>

"If you don't answer this problem by the end of the day, we'll be playing Russian Roulette," Reborn told them.

Yamamoto laughed. "Sounds fun kid, why not do it now?"

"Hiiiieeeeee! No, no, no, no! We'll do the problem instead!" Tsuna furiously racked his brain for any formula but his memory was hazy and he couldn't remember every single one.

"Aw Tsuna." Yamamoto pouted. "Playing the game would be easier."

Tsuna glanced at him and took out an orange binder from his drawer. In it contained his notes that Mia had him rewrite for a better understanding of their lessons and a few of her own as well. He handed it to Yamamoto. The baseball jock accepted it and began to flip through his pages. With each page, Yamamoto's smile grew wider and wider till he was bursting with laughter.

"What is this?" he asked.

Tsuna shrugged and began writing down some formulas that might be able to solve this damn problem. "When Mia was tutoring me, she said that learning could be fun if you make it."

"Really? Did you draw this?" Yamamoto pointed at a drawing of a robot in the middle of an equation to solve for height.

Tsuna laughed sheepishly. "Yeah."

"So why are you giving it to me?" Yamamoto wondered, closing the binder.

Tsuna pointed a pencil at him. "Not giving, but lending it. I think you need it more than I do."

Yamamoto laughed, "You're absolutely right. Thanks Tsuna!"

Tsuna hummed in reply. "Just make sure to give it back, Mia likes adding things that she thinks would help out."

"Stupid… baseball… freak…" Gokudera groaned from his side of the bed. The two boys brightened at the sound of the bomber.

"It looks like Gokudera is waking up!" Yamamoto grinned.

"Not if I can help it," Reborn said and yanked a cord that was connected to the shelves that hung on top of Tsuna's bed. A screw came out and the books that were on top came crashing down on Gokudera's head, knocking him out cold once again. "Gotta give Gokudera credit, he should have been out longer than that." Tsuna backed into Yamamoto, eyeing Reborn warily. The tutor from hell pointed a green ruler at them menacingly. They flinched. "Answer that or play the game with a five in a six chance of getting shot."

The door suddenly slammed open and the third-person-referring girl strode into the room like she owned the place. Tsuna stood up; going to say that it was _not_ appropriate to trespass into other people's home without their permission es_pecially _in a boy's room but she just rushed passed him before he could say anything.

"Reborn-chan!" she squealed at the hitman. Reborn stared at her.

"Who are you again?" he asked.

"Hahi!" Haru blushed in embarrassment. She bowed in apology. "I'm Miura, Haru-desu!"

Tsuna wanted nothing more than for her to go away but then Yamamoto pointed out a very interesting fact. Haru was a student of Midori Middle School, judging from her uniform, that is only one of the most elite schools in Namimori. Then Reborn – that little shit – proposed that he'll allow Haru to take him away only if she answered the math problem. She tried. She failed. Then she tried to bring her father into this mess but he deems it unsolvable. There was a huge mess of Reborn being recognized as a Mathematics Genius known as Professor Boreen – for serious? He admitted that this was a tie, since the problem was unsolved. To Tsuna's relief, they won't be forced to play Russian roulette.

Mia came in then, bringing drinks with her. When she saw Haru, she paused. Then she saw Gokudera and paused again.

_"Ho perso qualcosa?_" She asked Tsuna (_"Did I miss anything?"_).

He sighed and rubbed his eyes. In a tired voice – the kind that sounded like 'I'm so done and I wish I could just die' – he replied, "_Sono lieto che lei ha._" (_"Be glad that you did."_)

_"L'italiano è migliore del modo," _Tsuna brightened at her praise (_"Your Italian is getting better by the way."_).

Reborn snorted. "_Egli sembra più un pollo un strangolato." _Tsuna glared at him (_"He sounds more like a strangled chicken.")_.

"I didn't know you could speak Italian Tsuna," Yamamoto said, amazed.

Tsuna blushed. "I'm still not very good at it but I understand it okay," he shyly admitted. Haru was also staring at the brunette. So he spoke Italian – terrible Italian – but it was still impressive. The girl that insulted her before set a drink in front of her. She looked up. Mia was frowning at her. Feeling guarded, Haru raised her chin defiantly at the girl.

"Yankee-chan," Haru greeted her stiffly.

"Fatuous-sama," Mia returned likewise.

"Did you just call me _fat?" _Haru was outraged.

"I said fatuous as in F-A-T-U-O-U-S," Mia explained slowly. Haru glared at her. They stared at each other in a silent death match.

"So what's going on?" Mia slowly asked, breaking away eye contact from the girl known as Haru.

Tsuna coughed awkwardly and wordlessly slid a piece of paper towards her. She picked it up, read it for a moment and borrowed a pencil from Yamamoto. She scribbled something on it and left it face down on the table. Mia then made a quick exit, saying that she would get an icepack for Gokudera. Curiously, all of them looked down at the piece of paper. In neat archaic letters, it read:

**SYNTAX ERROR**

"Cheeky little brat," Reborn said.

* * *

><p>How the hell did it come to this? Tsuna thought. Dripping wet with a girl confessing before him who happens to be also wet – wait, that came out <em>so wrong<em>. Rewind! Long story cut short, Haru ambushed him at the bridge in armored cosplay wielding a hockey stick. She'll accept the Mafia story blah blah blah, then Gokudera, Yamamoto and Mia shows up. Gokudera's natural reaction? Blow her up, which he did and sent her drowning in the river. Tsuna was shot with a Dying Will Bullet, saves her and ends up being confessed to. He would have been flattered… if Kyoko and Hana hadn't shown up.

_Cazzo di universe. (Fuck you universe.)_

Mia felt absolutely frustrated, Haru was clinging onto Tsuna's arm like a lifeline and it severely bugging her to no end. Gokudera was currently locked into a shouting match with Haru – who was most probably going to be a common sight from now on – while Tsuna looked absolutely miserable. She took pity on him for his girl troubles and decided to make a very mature decision. She would make peace with Haru… even if she was a fatuous person.

"Hey Yamamoto?" The raven-haired teen glanced down at her, clearly amused by the situation before them.

"Yeah?"

"Could you help break those two apart, I need to say something to Haru." Mia sighed heavily. "Besides, I hardly think Tsuna would appreciate the stress of me antagonizing people who might become future friends." She stared at the three of them.

Yamamoto paused for a moment and then smiled gently. He patted her head and she looked back up at him. "You're really understanding Mia."

She blinked at him, a strange look in her eyes. She turned away, leaving Yamamoto a bit worried. Had he said something wrong? Mia reached up to pat the hand still on top of her head then awkwardly tucked her hands behind her back. Oh, he realized. Mia must be the type who doesn't take praises well. Smiling, he strode to the two fighting over Tsuna.

"Maa, maa," he said, coming between them.

"Back off baseball-freak!" Gokudera growled at him. He pointed at Haru. "This stupid woman refuses to let go of Tenth!"

"Ne, Haru-san, don't you think you should let go of Tsuna? He needs to get dressed for school." Haru pouted but obliged at the infallible logic. She let go and Tsuna let out a sigh of relief. He went away with Gokudera to get changed into some spare clothes that Reborn left. Mia approached Haru and offered her a towel. It was a good thing they had physical education today, Mia thought to herself. Haru narrowed her eyes at her suspiciously.

Swallowing her pride, Mia bowed before Haru in a classic Japanese apology.

"I'm sorry Haru-san. I know we got off on the wrong foot but I hope we can put everything behind us." Oh god did she want to cut her own tongue off. Tsuna better appreciate the sacrifices she makes for him or else she'll leave him to suffer alone with Reborn. Still, she was sincere.

Haru sniffed then turned her head away. "Haru will never forgive Yankee-chan for calling her fat!"

Oh that little snobby brat…

"Hahaha!" Yamamoto laughed and placed a hand on each of their shoulders.

"Hahi!" Haru leaned away when Yamamoto leaned closely to her.

"Miura-san, I think you should forgive Mia." Then in a whisper, he added, "She's Tsuna's best friend."

Haru froze.

"Haru will forgive Mia-chan!" Relieved, Mia shot Yamamoto a grateful smile. "But I will become Tsuna-san's bride!" Haru declared.

"Ehhhhhhhhhhh?"

* * *

><p>As weeks went by, more and more strange people began to be drawn to Tsuna. First there was I-pin, the litte Chinese assassin girl, Sasagawa Ryohei, an enthusiastic boxer who surprisingly is Kyoko's older brother and even Hibari. Mia could see how happy – despite being exasperated to the max – he was at making new friends. She was glad that he was happy; she really was although she felt more than a little left out. What used to be study and movie sessions we're now trips to Yamamoto's sushi bar and the arcades. Haru and Kyoko were frequent as well - <em>they<em> made lunches for everyone to share. She started to feel that she wasn't needed as much as she used to.

She kept her jokes to herself now and read most of the time. It sort of reminded her when she was at America. She used to spend her time reading in quiet corners of the school, unable to share her interest because she wasn't… normal. She spoke like a grown-up and acted like one. Mia couldn't relate to her peers. It was fine, she convinced herself. She was fine being alone, content at doing things by herself. But then she met Tsuna and she just… she liked having friends but she didn't know how to get along with them. Books can only take you so far after all.

Mia was human though, and she had her moments of weakness. For once, she left earlier than Tsuna, telling him that she needed to go look at something and won't be able to hang out with him. He seemed okay with that, she thought with a pang. She quickly changed out of her uniform to wear something more comfortable – jeans, an orange t-shirt her Pa gave her for her birthday and a pair of her oldest worn sneakers. She tied her hair into a pony tail, wore leather bracelets on both of her wrists – bracelets that she collected when she accompanied her Pa to some places.

For the first time in a long time, Mia felt… not normal but normal as she could possibly handle because under all the jokes and puns, Mia took this seriously. Tsuna might trick himself to believing that if he just closed his eyes it will all go away but for her, her eyes will always be open. She'll see things the way they are and accept it as a fact. But the stress was getting too much and she needed that fresh breath of air. So when she stepped out of her apartment, she took a long casual walk around Namimori. There was a coffee shop she wanted to try but never had the chance to so she decided to head there.

She sat outside, sipping her coffee and just watched people pass by. The blonde strands of hair that framed her face were highlighted by the afternoon sun, bringing out her cornflower blue eyes. She was so into her thoughts that she was startled when a young man approached her.

He was blonde but with brown eyes, he wore a green furry jacket and was absolutely sheepish as he smiled at her. She noticed right away that he was a handsome young man. Uh-oh, she thought.

"They do have great coffee here huh?" he said.

"Yeah," Mia awkwardly replied.

"Mind if I sit with you? Everywhere else is full." Mia looked around and indeed, it was a full house. She was the only one here sitting alone on this table. She made her mind and gestured courteously at the chair in front of her.

"I won't mind," she said, smiling faintly.

He took his seat and Mia resumed her observing. There was a comfortable silence between the two of them until a waitress broke it by setting down a cup of coffee in front of the guy. The waitress glanced at her.

"Would your girlfriend like to try our special cake? It's popular with the girls lately." Mia spat out her coffee at the same time the guy waved his hands around.

"We're not dating!" he said then he scratched his cheek, glancing at her. "But I'd like to order the special anyway." The waitress giggled – _evilly mind you _– and left. Mia could feel her face heat up.

"You didn't need to do that," she protested meekly.

He flashed a smile at her, one that made her blush darken. "I always return the favor. You were nice enough to share a table with a stranger."

"You didn't have anywhere else to sit plus you look like you've been walking for a while now so I figured you needed a rest," she said. She wished she could just melt into her chair.

"You're so modest." The young man held out a hand. "I'm Dino Chiavarone."

Mia took his hand, surprised. "You're Italian? Me too! I'm Mia Matteis."

Pleasantly surprised, Dino placed his other hand on top of hers and shook it. He grinned. "Coincidence huh?"

There was a cough. The waitress had arrived with a slice of cake. Mia snatched her hands back like she was burned and tucked them into her lap. Dino chuckled and withdrew his hands.

"Your order!" the waitress cheerily said and placed the plate before Mia. "Will there be anything else?" Dino shook his head and the waitress left. Mia hesitantly picked up the fork and glanced at Dino.

"Are you sure it's okay?" she asked him.

"Definitely!" Dino said.

Well, if he says so… Mia took a bite and scrunched up her face. Dino frowned. "What's wrong?"

She cut another piece and held it up to observe. "It's too sweet."

"Really?" Out of nowhere he leaned out of his seat and ate the cake right off her fork. "You're right; it is a bit too sweet."

"Hey!" she protested and wiped the fork on a napkin. "You just don't do that man."

"I'm sorry," Dino apologized sheepishly.

Mia sighed – she faintly wondered if she was used to strange people by now – and began to eat her cake. It was too sweet but she drank her coffee between intervals. The cake was still good. When she was done she set the fork on the plate and wiped her mouth.

"That was really good, thank you." She smiled heartily at Dino.

He smiled back. His phone suddenly rang and Dino hurried to answer it. "Romario! Hey, I was just about to call you…" he laughed nervously. "Well you see, I got a bit lost and… oh…. I'll be there… promise!" he set down his phone.

"Mia, you wouldn't happen to know you're way around here right?"

"Say no more." She stood up, grabbing her bag. "It's my turn to return a favor."

* * *

><p>Both Tsuna and Reborn were very surprised when the boss of the Chiavarone came to his house with Mia. She trailed wearily behind Dino looking at the guards that stood around the house with apprehension. They gave her mean looks which Dino quickly admonished them for. Gokudera and Yamamoto appeared and greeted (hostile in Gokudera's case) Dino.<p>

"This girl here helped me get where I'm supposed to be so be nice to her alright?" There was a chorus of "Yes boss!" all around.

"Thanks," she murmured.

"How did you two meet Dino?" Reborn inquired. Tsuna was looking at them back and forth, an indescribable expression on his face. Gokudera and Yamamoto we're also looking at her the same way. Mia hid herself behind Dino. She sighed woefully; there goes her peace and quiet.

"Oh? Mia and I were on a date!" Dino said.

"What?" the three boys exclaimed.

Mia didn't think it was funny and kicked him in the shins. He yelped then rubbed his head apologetically. She glared at him and he nervously laughed. "I was kidding! Really!" he kept apologizing till Mia stopped glaring.

"So what's the real story?" Reborn inquired.

"We met over coffee," she deadpanned him. "Then I helped him get here."

"You forgot I brought you some cake," Dino added but was pinned down by her glare once again.

"That's it?" Reborn seemed almost disappointed.

"I'd tell you about the appearance of unicorns shooting lasers out of their rears and a poptart cat that flew through the sky leaving rainbows behind but I figured you wouldn't have found it interesting," Mia said.

"Nobody likes a smartass Mia," Reborn told her.

"Yeah I'm sure," she said scathingly. She just wanted _one day_ to be away from all of this. Was it too much to ask? She glanced at Tsuna and he looked downright uncomfortable. She waited for him to say something – _anything. _She wanted him to notice that no, she wasn't feeling alright but Tsuna didn't appear to have taken notice at all, which hurt her more than she cared to admit. She would have thought he would have known her by now but no. She supposed he still needed time. Her father knew her longest and he still had trouble understanding her from time to time.

"Thank you for helping Dino Mia. Go now, we have business to discuss," Reborn dismissed her. Oh hell, to hell with all of it. She nodded stiffly and left.

No, she will not cry. She'd rather cry tears of pain than this. Her head hung low as she left. She didn't head to her apartment; instead she wandered where her feet took her. Walking always cleared her mind - she'll want till she was tired. Back in the Sawada household, there was a stream of protests from everyone in the room.

"Let me go already Reborn!" Tsuna struggled against the green rope that had bound him. He wanted to go after Mia but damn. Reborn. Won't. Let. Him.

"That was harsh kid," Yamamoto murmured.

"Reborn-san…" Gokudera trailed off.

"Reborn, I think that was wrong for you to do." Dino frowned at his former mentor.

"Shut up all of you," Reborn said and yanked the rope backwards. Tsuna fell against his friends in a heap pile. "Not another word – Mia needed to be alone plus it's time she learned that not everyone would tolerate her cheek." He shared a glance with Dino.

Dino understood but Tsuna didn't. He stood up and glowered at his tutor. He was going to say something that would have earned him to be shot at but then his phone vibrated in his pocket. He looked at the ID and saw it was Mia. Her picture after they got his phone for the first time. He quickly answered it.

"Mia?"

_"Hey Tsuna… you wouldn't happen to know the 911 in Japan right?" _Mia's heavy breathing mixed in with her words. She sounded like she was running.

"911? Mia, what happened?" He demanded. Reborn looked up at him.

"Tenth?" Tsuna held a hand up.

"Put it in speaker Dame-Tsuna," Reborn ordered him. He wanted to spite Reborn but this was more important, so Tsuna obliged.

_"I'm just… exercising… you know," _she laughed nervously. "_So what's the number?" _

Air whistled through the phone's speakers and suddenly there was a loud crash.

"Oi! Mia, you alright?" Yamamoto asked.

"_Peachy," _she replied. She cried out suddenly and Tsuna almost slammed his phone to his ear.

"Mia?!"

There was a grunt. _"Yakuza bastards… where's Hibari when you fucking need him?" _she groaned then the call got cut off. Tsuna tightly held his phone in his hand then shoved it furiously into his pocket. He strode to the door, Gokudera and Yamamoto flanking either side of him.

"Where do you think you're going Tsuna?" Reborn's voice stopped him for a moment. Tsuna turned his head briefly to glance at his tutor.

"I'm saving my friend."

"Let Gokudera and Yamamoto handle it. You need to stay here."

Tsuna whirled around, angry at the audacity of his tutor. "I thought Family was supposed to take care of one another!" He glared at Reborn. "How can you expect me to be a boss when I can't even look after my own friends?"

Dino stared at his 'younger brother' and at his tutor. Reborn smirked.

"Heh, alright," Reborn said, surprising everyone. "You should be lucky Dame-Tsuna, I know just where their base is."

"You do?" Tsuna blurted out.

"Yes. Dino?" The hitman looked at his other student. The bronco nodded. "Romario! We're going for a ride!"

* * *

><p>This is what happens when you sulk around feeling sorry for yourself, Mia thought bitterly, kidnapped by Yakuzas to be done so as they pleased. They haven't done anything yet but she didn't dare hope for more. They took her bag, money and phone. She was left tied in a small smelly room. What is this? A goddamn urinal? She gagged at the smell. Those bastards. Her hands were tied behind her and her feet were bound but she managed to get up by sliding upwards against the wall. She looked around, looking for anything to use to cut her ropes. Nothing. Just a metal pipe, a frying pan and a pack of cigarettes. Remembering something from a book she once read, she relaxed her body to the best of her capabilities.<p>

When she thought she was ready, she lied down on her stomach and bent her body, curling upwards. _Easy does it_, she thought to herself as sweat ran down her face. Hooking her feet through her arms, she rolled backwards, and slipped legs through the loop of her arms. It worked! She cheered in her mind. Her hands were now in front of her.

She quickly untied the rope around her feet, keeping herself calm by focusing on the task. After freeing her feet, she undid the knots on her hands with her teeth. It was much more difficult but she kept a cool head. _Good things, _she told herself. _Think about the good things in life. Books, Movies, Pies… The smell of dirt._

She finally freed herself and she grinned at her accomplishment. "Sweet."

Just then, footsteps approached the door and Mia scrambled to hide her hands behind her back and tuck her feet beneath her knees. The door swung open and a yakuza wannabe grinned down at her. She blew a strand of hair from her face and glared at him. He closed the door.

"Shoji and Kibe did good. This girl's pretty cute," he lecherously leered at her.

This was why she didn't like being complimented on her looks. People think she was pretty, she thinks they're stupid. She had freckles dot her face; her hair had weird color proportions of blonde and her mouth was seemingly small which is ironic because she's a big talker when she wants to be. Like now, she said, "Which can't be much to say about you."

"What did you say? You calling me ugly?" He loomed threateningly over her. She scoffed at him. Gokudera had better glares than that.

"You called yourself ugly," she quipped. It happened so fast she didn't see it coming. He backhanded her across the face but she held strong on her position. _Just a little more_, she told herself over the pain. _Angry people don't think straight. Wait for it._

Her cheek stung but her eyes fiercely glared at him.

"Not so pretty now are you?" He sneered at her.

She spat at his face.

He roared and lunged at her. She sidestepped him and picked up the nearest object – the frying pan and whacked him against the face. He crumpled like a sack of potatoes. She hesitantly nudged him with her foot and he grunted. With a squeak, she slammed the frying pan down his head again for good measure. She sensed another person coming, judging by the footsteps it was only one pair. She darted to the door, the pan clutched tightly in her hands.

"Oi Higa? You done already? The boss wants to see you." another yakuza stepped in and saw his comrade on the floor, unconscious. He turned around but Mia hit him across the face as well. Like his friend, he crumpled and Mia struggled to catch him. She tried to lower him gently to muffle the sound and not attract attention. When she accomplished that, she peeked through the crack in the door.

Well shit, the place was filled with them. She saw a window across the room. How many feet can a person survive? She wondered to herself. Fifty feet would kill her for sure and a third story would disable her… she hoped this was a first or second story building. She did not want to go over that plan yet thank you very much.

_Think, _she told herself. She looked around the small cramped room. Her eyes scanned for anything useful. They landed on the cigarette pack. She picked it up. It was half-full. She searched the unconscious men, and grinned when she found her prize. She opened the top of the pack enough to squeeze all the cigarettes then took all the sticks out and put them back in the other way around. The lighting ends stuck out just enough for it to burn. Taking out the lighter she prayed her plan would work and lighted the cigarettes. When the smoke started to go up, she opened the door and threw the pack inside the other room as far as it can. Immediately, it caught attention and everyone was focused on it. She opened the door and dived behind the couch. It was a cheap couch – its cushions were just pillows and then a blanket draped over it.

There was space underneath it and Mia rolled under it. Now all she had to do was either wait for them to leave and sneak out or wait till rescue arrives. She prayed to god nobody was fat – she didn't think the chair would handle the weight nicely or her body for that matter.

She didn't have to wait long, they discovered that she was missing and we're going to leave to find her when a huge explosion rocked the building. People yelled as they were blown from their feet. She curled into a ball and covered her ears. Could it be?

"How dare you bastards kidnap Matteis-sama! I'll fucking blow you all!"

"Maa, maa Gokudera. Leave some for me will you?"

"Mia? Mia are you here?" Tsuna's frantic voice made her poked her head from underneath the couch. The sight of the three of them there, made her forget all her troubles these past few weeks.

"Guys!" She was just so happy to see them. They all jumped and she crawled out, choosing to leave the pan. "I'm so glad to see you all!"

Tsuna stared at her. They all did. "Tsuna?" Mia frowned. Dino and Reborn appeared behind them.

"Mia," Tsuna sounded like he was trying hard to control himself. "Did they do that to you?"

Oh. She tentatively touched her cheek. She was still high in adrenaline so she couldn't feel it but it was there. "Um…" she looked down at her feet. "Yes," she said in a quiet whisper. Tsuna's bangs covered his eyes and his fists shook.

"Mia, come here. This is gonna be a bit messy," Dino went over to her and led her outside. Before that, she caught Reborn pointing Leon at Tsuna then she couldn't see them anymore. All she heard was the BANG!

It lasted only five minutes and the boys walked out, satisfied for getting back at the Yakuza gang if one were to judge by their black and blue appearances. Dino's family dealt with them. Tsuna trailed behind the other two, wearing a new pair of pants and a shirt. When he looked up and caught sight of her, he looked so guilty Mia couldn't help but forgive him – forgive all of them, even Reborn.

"You okay?" Yamamoto asked her, frowning at the blooming bruise on her face.

Actually, it fucking hurt. Now that the adrenaline wore off, she started to feel the ache and the pain but she smiled anyway even if it did hurt.

"Never better," and she honestly meant it.

"They didn't do anything else right?" Gokudera searched her with his eyes. If it were any girl, they would have called him a pervert but Mia understood. She shook her head.

"They hadn't had time to try." She remembered the satisfaction of hitting her captor.

"Mia… I'm sorry," Tsuna suddenly apologized. She snorted.

"My fault for going to places I don't know," she crossed her arms. "To be honest, I should be the one saying sorry. So… I'm sorry." They still look like they wanted to protest but she waved them closer. They did and she managed to wrap her arms on all three of them for a group hug. "And I wanted to say… thank you." When she let go, Gokudera and Yamamoto were both similar shades of red.

She and Tsuna laughed at them. 

* * *

><p><strong>Hohoho bet no one thought of that scene being serious eh? Obviously this is the episode Dino comes in and he tricked Gokudera and Yamamoto to thinking Tsuna was kidnapped. They beat the shit out of the yakuza lol. Here I used it to my advantage. Score for conveniently placed plot ideas! <strong>

**This is what I meant by Mia not being an active fighter like Bianchi. People might say that no one could stay calm in a situation like that but there are people who exist that can think calmly in a dire situation. I for one myself knows it by experience. People thought it was funny to throw me in a eight-feet pool and left me half-drowning because they thought I was faking it. Stupid life guard was a shitty asshole. I managed to get myself out of that one by using my head.**

**Anyway, this is how Mia will fight back in future chapters. **

**Translation:**

**"_Ho perso qualcosa?_" - Did I miss anything?**

**"_Sono lieto che lei ha._" - Be glad that you did.**

**"_L'italiano è migliore del modo," - _Your Italian is getting better by the way.**

**"_Egli sembra più un pollo un strangolato." - _He sounds more like a strangled chicken.**

**_Cazzo di universe _- Fuck you universe**

**REVIEW MINNA**

**BECAUSE I'LL BE FOCUSING ON TU NEXT AND IT MIGHT BE A WHILE UNTIL I COME BACK FOR SUNSET HUE**


	8. Omerta

**I'm not confusing am I? To my old readers, I'm pretty sure you know how I often jump from one character to another - not exactly going into first person since it takes a lot of work - because of the vast cast of characters that KHR has. No one has pointed this out yet so I feel like I should just throw it out there. **

**On another note, if anyone doesn't understand anything, please to tell me and I'll do my best to make it understandable. Alright? Great.**

**Disclaimer: I don't own KHR but damn do I have posters littering my bedroom walls of posters of it.**

* * *

><p>Reborn had seen evidences of what Mia had done prior to their arrival. The girl had the qualities to face a crisis and not be overwhelmed by emotions – it was a trait that would be useful in the long run, Reborn thought to himself. The other members of Tsuna's Family were brash and hasty – it was a quality shared by all youth after all but they didn't have Mia's resilience. Her adaptive nature would get them out of a cinch if he wasn't around – he was sure of it, no, he was <em>counting <em>on it.

When he saw the two Yakuza in the small room, he was intrigued by the injuries they sustained. She didn't use a pipe that was obvious enough. After searching the whole floor, he found a frying pan under the couch which matched the two's faces. With his investigation coming to an end, he met with the rest outside. Dino was talking to Tsuna and the others, explaining who exactly he was and his relationship with Reborn.

"Eh?! You were Reborn's previous student?" Tsuna gaped.

Dino nodded. "If it wasn't for Reborn I wouldn't have turned into the fine man I am today!"

Mia was scrutinizing him shrewdly from her spot, leaning against Dino's car. Reborn watched as Tsuna would occasionally glance at Mia; see her smiling and just content where she was. God, watching these two were so frustrating. They were so sweet it gave him cavity and a hitman never has cavities.

He jumped and sat on Mia's shoulder, to her surprise. Reborn poked her bruised cheek and tsked when she winced.

"What the hell do you think you're doing Reborn?" Tsuna demanded.

The hitman ignored him. "We'll need to work on your skills, you got potential." In his roundabout way, it meant that it was his way for apologizing for earlier – at least that's how she interpreted it. A teasing smirk played on her smile.

"Improvisation is a skill? Always thought it was ability," she said.

"Cheeky brat, once I'm through with you let's see how your 'ability' holds." Mia frowned at Reborn.

"Wait, what do you mean 'once you're through with me'?"

* * *

><p>It was a majority vote for Mia to spend the night at the Sawada Residence. Everybody ignored her protests that she was alright and they've handled the problem but Tsuna would counter her every step of the way with his own logical reasoning that immediately stumped her and everyone else. She stared at him, mouth agape and said, "Who are you and what did you do to Tsuna?"<p>

Tsuna rolled his eyes.

The people who now resided in the house including Bianchi with her goggles on, with Gokudera, Yamamoto and Dino were watching the two go at it from across the table. They were in Tsuna's room right now, each teen holding a child on their laps. Lambo sat on Tsuna while I-pin on Mia. Everybody's heads went back and forth as the two bantered. To see Mia being put down by Tsuna of all people was a spectacle to behold. The only ones who weren't surprised were Nana and Reborn because Tsuna's mother had seen them do it long enough and Reborn because he's… Reborn.

Mia was mock-glaring at Tsuna, who actually looked cocky for once, and threw half her torso backwards to the floor. She was glaring at the ceiling then. "Fine, I'll stay overnight." Tsuna brightened at that. "I'll go get my stuff from my place."

"There's no need to," Bianchi coolly told her. "Reborn had me go to your apartment to pick up your things."

Mia frowned, clearly displeased. "I hate you all," she muttered.

Bianchi smirked. "Don't be upset now, this is the perfect chance for me to tutor you in the ways of being a woman."

Mia sat up so fast she almost hit her head on the table. She had the most horrified expression to grace her face that Tsuna ever saw. In a way, it was the funniest thing ever.

"Oh _hell no_," she said. "I'd rather be shot at by Reborn."

"You don't really mean that," Tsuna said.

"No, I actually do."

"Hahaha! Mia really is a tomboy huh?"

"How dare you baseball freak! Mia-sama is a fine lady! If she wasn't, she wouldn't be by Tenth's side!"

Tsuna and Mia sweat dropped at the two. "So if I wasn't friends with Tsuna I would be a hobo?" She asked herself.

"I didn't mean it that way!" Gokudera quickly told her.

Bianchi tsked at her brother. "You lack sensitivity Hayato."

"Shut up!"

"Back to the earlier topic, shall I shoot you now Mia? I always wanted to shoot you with a Dying Will Bullet." Reborn polished his gun.

"Reborn!" Tsuna admonished his tutor.

"Heh, don't pretend you don't wanna see it." Reborn smirked. Most of the males in the room turned red at his suggestive tone.

Mia slightly leaned away from the hitman, not picking up the innuendo. "On second thought, I'll pick two of the lesser evils… in one condition."

"Oh?" Bianchi asked her. Mia nodded slowly. She lifted I-pin.

"I-pin has to be there with me! Will you I-pin?" she asked the little girl.

"I-pin will do her best!" the girl chirped.

"No fair! Lambo-san wants to be there as well!" Lambo interjected.

"Alright you, come here." Mia opened her arm out to him. Lambo jumped out of Tsuna's lap and into Mia's arms. She made sure she was holding them securely before getting up.

"Come on then, let's get you cleaned up." Bianchi gestured out the door. Mia stood up and followed, walking like her last steps will be her last. Bianchi lightly pushed her to go faster, saying "_Tali drammatiche." ("Such the dramatic.") _

Yamamoto and Gokudera got up as well, the latter looking very regretful.

"It's getting late Tsuna, I promised that I'll be home for dinner." Tsuna nodded at Yamamoto.

"I'm sorry Tenth, but I have to go as well. I have a shipment of bombs coming in today so I have to meet with my dealer."

"No um… that's okay Gokudera-kun." Tsuna did not know what to say. He was highly disturbed at how nonchalant Gokudera said it, like it was as if he was just going to the store to buy cereal. "But thank you two for today," he told them gratefully. "Come stay for dinner next time, I'm sure Mom won't mind."

"I'll take you up on that." Yamamoto grinned.

"I would be honored to Tenth!" Gokudera bowed.

"No need for that Gokudera-kun." Tsuna laughed weakly.

After that, the two left. As soon as the door closed Tsuna could hear the one-sided bickering happen. He shook his head at his two friends. Still, the lighthearted atmosphere disappeared and was replaced by the seriousness that Reborn emitted. He had been dreading this since earlier. He had actually answered back at Reborn – not the side-comment kind but the 'I'll do whatever I want and you can't stop me' kind – and he was seriously worried if tonight will be his last.

All that stuff he said about Family and being a boss was a spur of the moment. He hadn't really meant it… totally at least. He still didn't want to be the boss of the Vongola Family.

"Tsuna." He flinched when his name was called.

"H-H-Hai?"

"I don't expect you to be a boss because I _will_ make you one," Reborn told him.

"I don't want to be the boss," Tsuna immediately denied.

Dino placed a hand on his shoulder. "Tsuna, the reason I came here to Japan was to evaluate you on Reborn's request."

"Evaluate?" Tsuna frowned. Dino nodded and withdrew his hand.

"As you know, I am the boss of the Chavarone Famiglia. As a long steady ally of the Vongola Famiglia, it is part of my responsibility to greet the next boss. Other than me, no other Family knows who the next heir is. I probably would have met you on your acceptance ceremony instead but Reborn called me in and I have to say… you have the makings of becoming a great boss Tsuna."

Tsuna laughed humorlessly. "Me? I don't think I have the qualifications to be a murderer."

It was Dino's turn to frown. "That's not what I meant Tsuna. A boss takes care of his Family. It's the boss' connection with their Family, their _Famiglia_ that makes them strong and you, you care very much. The Mafia isn't as dark as you think it is."

Tsuna was unconvinced. "The mafia kills people right? They fight over territory and power. I'm sorry Dino-san but I will not be the boss." With that he stood up, unwilling to hear more. He made up his mind; he will _not_ be the boss.

"Tsuna wait!" Dino called out but Tsuna strode out of the room without looking back.

"Reborn!" Dino looked to his former tutor. "Why aren't you doing anything?"

Reborn petted Leon's head. "Because Dame-Tsuna can't run from this, whether he likes it or not, he will become the boss," he said.

* * *

><p>After a nice bath and a change of clothes, Mia came downstairs to find a very somber Tsuna. She wanted to ask him what was wrong but dinner had begun and everybody had taken their seats. Since there was no other vacant chair besides the one on Bianchi's left, Mia took that seat. Nana gasped at the bruise on her cheek.<p>

"Mia-chan, whatever happened to you?" She worriedly asked from the seat right next to Mia's.

Mia brushed it off with an awkward laugh. "This is gonna sound really dumb, but I walked in on the Boxing Club while they were practicing and I got hit by one of the members accidentally." She tapped her cheek. "I'll remember to knock next time."

No one called her out on the lie and Mia was grateful that almost everyone here was comfortable with lying. Tsuna's lips were pressed thinly but he didn't look her way, opting to frown at his dinner instead. She didn't know what happened after she, Gokudera and Yamamoto left but whatever it was, it bothered him. That aside, dinner went smoothly and it was a pleasant surprise to know that Dino is useless when his men aren't around to watch him. It had her giggling so much that Tsuna started to light up, unable to not find Mia tease his 'older brother' funny.

After that, Tsuna went to sit outside. He was later joined by Mia. She sat down beside him wearing a baggy blue shirt and pajama bottoms. He glanced at her briefly before turning his eyes away to the heavens above.

"What's on your mind?" she asked him.

"Nothing," he answered.

She snorted. "You're brooding." Mia pointed out.

He kept his eyes upwards but he could see by the corners that Mia was staring at him, waiting for him to spill the beans. Mia had always listened to him, he thought. She always stood by his side, acting like the support that leaned on his back for him to stand straight and tall. They were best friends. He had nothing to hide anyway.

"It's just I don't want to be the boss. I don't want any of this," he confessed. "Why can't I just live an ordinary life?"

"Things don't always happen the way we want it to Tsuna," Mia quietly said.

Tsuna tried not to glare at her but he couldn't keep the agitation off his tone. "So what you're saying is that I should just let this happen?"

"That's not what I'm saying," Mia quickly said.

"Then what are you saying?"

"I'm saying that it's all on you on how you're going to do this." He turned slowly to look at her. She was facing towards the garden wall; the look on her face was of deep thought. "I can't tell you what to do Tsuna," she started. "I can't tell you what will happen from here on out but I what I can tell you is that when life throws something at you – you make the best of it."

"I don't see the good about this at all," Tsuna muttered. Mia laughed suddenly and shook her head.

"You're such an idiot sometimes, you know that?" she teased him.

"Hey!" he exclaimed, hurt.

She turned to him, a small smile on her lips. "So what about Gokudera? Yamamoto? Lambo? I-pin and everybody else? Don't they mean anything to you?"

Now that he thought about it, she did have a point, he stupidly realized. If Reborn hadn't thrashed his life he wouldn't have met any of these people. Well sure he might have been friends with Yamamoto in another life without Reborn but it just wouldn't be the same. He would never have met the others though, because they were foreigners. Never would they have come to Japan without a reason. Still, he wasn't going to admit that.

"Shut up," he told her.

"What?" She innocently asked, grinning.

"I can tell what you're thinking."

She scooted closer to him and bumped his shoulder. "So what am I thinking?"

"That I'm always right," he said in an impression of her voice. It sounded horrible.

"I don't sound like that!" she protested. Tsuna laughed. She huffed but didn't say anything. Placing her head to rest on his shoulder, the two of them stayed out to just enjoy the silence between them and only went to bed when Mia seriously fell asleep.

He knew she was tired and decided to carry her to the room where Bianchi and the kids slept. It was lucky for them that it's the start of the weekend tom. He tried carrying her bridal style, but lacked the muscle to do so. He regretted not being able to be physically fit. He opted instead to carry her on his back to the room. Gently laying her down on the spare futon set out for her by Bianchi, he pulled the covers up to her chin and watched as she curled in on her pillow like she always did. Smiling, he went back to his room where Reborn and Dino waited for him.

The moment he closed the door, Reborn snickered. "Watching someone sleep like a true creeper."

"T-Th-that's… how… I'm not even going to ask anymore," Tsuna stammered out, blushing. How did he even know that? He headed straight to bed and threw the covers over his head. After a moment, his voice was muffled by the covers as he said, "Good night Dino-san, Reborn."

"You forgot someone Dame-Tsuna."

"Good night Leon."

He was asleep in a matter of moments, the exhaustion of today taking its toll on him at last.

* * *

><p>The next morning, Tsuna was startled awake by Mia's scream. He jumped right out of the bed and ran outside his room, tripping on his own feet along the way and falling down the stairs. Scrambling to get back on his feet he located the sound of her scream and found her cowering outside the door of bathroom.<p>

"Mia? What's going on?"

She didn't look at him, her eyes focused on what's inside the bathroom. She lifted a hand and pointed. Following it, he saw what the problem was. There was a big ass mother effing turtle inside the bathtub!

"What the hell?" he exclaimed. Wait, were his eyes deceiving him? "IS IT GROWING?"

No, the turtle was seriously growing like a sponge almost to the point where it outgrew the tub. It destroyed it and water flowed down to the floor.

"Enzio!" Dino came up behind him. "I was looking for you, you know that?"

"That thing is _yours_?" Tsuna gaped.

Dino rubbed his neck nervously. "Sorry for the damage, I'll pay for it."

"That's not the problem right now!"

* * *

><p>After getting whipped in the face and a disturbing history lesson of Enzio's origins, Tsuna and Mia decided to go out to escape the madness for a while. It had been a while, Tsuna thought, since they've gone to hang out just the two of them. With everything going on, he missed the quiet afternoons where he could just read quietly and Mia would be sleeping on his bed, or they would be playing games all afternoon. He felt a bit sad that he still hadn't finished her book in between Reborn's tutoring, hers and the booming shit that seemed to happen whenever one of his friends were around. It was starting to gather a bit of dust too.<p>

They walked to the park, Mia humming to herself. Tsuna had heard Bianchi ask if it was alright for her to go outside, since there was a large bruise on her face. She waved it off – the nerve of that girl – and said that she wasn't ashamed of it. He wondered why.

"Because it's a battle scar." He jumped. Mia was grinning at him.

"Uh, what?" he said blankly. She chuckled.

"Tsuna, you were talking out loud."

Oh. Well, might as well throw the question out there. He coughed awkwardly. "Um… what do you mean a 'battle scar'?"

She shrugged. "I earned it because I was being a bit too cheeky –"

"I can imagine that," Tsuna muttered. One of these days, her cheek could seriously get her killed. Mia went on, not hearing his comment.

"and because it's a reminder how I got through it on my own." She smiled proudly to herself.

Tsuna sometimes marveled her way of handling things and her strength. There was just something about how she looked at the world and not be overwhelmed by it that had him gravitate towards her, maybe hoping that her strength would rub off on him. So far her smarts and her sarcasm had. He used to feel envious because he was so useless but then she would look at him with those hopeful blue eyes, he felt like he might as well give it at try because she believed when no one did.

"I'm engaged to Hibari."

"WHAT?" He hadn't meant for it to be loud and oh damn, his voice broke too but that's _not the goddamn point_.

They had stopped walking and Tsuna was looking at her, unable to believe it. Mia had that annoying amused smirk on her face, the type that she was just messing with him.

"Seriously, I've been trying to get your attention for the past five minutes," she explained seeming far too amused for his liking.

He deflated at that. "Oh," he said blankly. Had he really been thinking that hard?

She shook her head at his hopelessness. "God, I can't believe you fell for that. Maybe next time I should say I'm pregnant."

He glared at her. "Don't you dare," he growled. His own reaction surprised him but Mia looked taken back, her eyes wide. He let out a deep breath. "Mia, I'm sort of not in the mood for life-changing jokes. Sorry."

She studied his expression and her face softened to a smile. "Yeah, I get it. But you have to admit everyone's reaction would be hilarious." She grinned mischievously. Hooking her arm around his neck she pulled him to start walking again. "I think Gokudera's would be the best."

He rolled his eyes but let himself be drawn in to the joke."You're an awful person."

She winked at him. "People like me anyway."

They went to buy some snacks and after a bit of arguing, it was decided that they would buy something for everyone. When they came back, Dino plucked the bags from their arms. He smiled at them, and jerked his thumb to the living room.

"Reborn's waiting for you two. Go on, I'll take care of this." Tsuna and Mia exchanged glances at each other, the former looking nervous and unsure while the latter grinned mischievously.

Mia pushed Tsuna into the room. "We'll let you handle it then," she said. "Make sure you save the chips, those are ours. The candies are for the kids."

"Uh…" Dino stood there, processing what she just said. _Wait for it_, she thought. _1… 2… 3…_

"LAMBO-SAMA SMELLS CANDY!"

"I-pin wants too!"

Dino yelped as two children jumped on him. There was a crash and the sound of squabbling. Mia chuckled and Tsuna was shaking his head. "You're cruel," he commented.

"I'm hilarious." She grinned.

"Tsuna." The joking mood vanished and Tsuna somberly faced towards the direction where his name was called. Reborn was there, sitting on Bianchi's lap. He was petting Leon the way an evil genius pats their equally evil cat. The thought made him cringe.

"Yeah?" he cautiously replied.

He did not see it coming. One minute he was standing there, the next he was only in his underwear having the most powerful urge to go running around town. "I WILL TRAIN WITH MY DYING WILL!"

Mia stared where Tsuna previously stood. He was gone in a heartbeat, disappeared into the wind… she dumbly turned her gaze to where Reborn was, his gun never lowering and she had a feeling it wasn't over yet.

"Um… Reborn?" Her voice was small. That gun was pointing at _her_. He wasn't really going to shoot her right? _Right?_ A bullet came wheezing past her face and hit the wall behind her. She _felt _the bullet come _this goddamn close _to her face – like a _millimeter away_. She was breathing quite heavily and her muscles were itching for her to bolt out the door but she held her stand.

_Relax. _A small voice in her head told her. _Exhale. _She did. With a single breath, she relieved most of the tension in her body. Mostly. There was enough left for her to remain alert.

He was testing her reflexes and found it to his liking. She certainly was made of tough stuff and could probably be trained to not show reaction. Reborn noticed a lot of things – like how Mia would approach a problem and how to avoid it. Compared to the rest – she was the most cunning. He needed her to be Tsuna's voice of doubt in times when the boy's naivety would be too great to overcome. He had a feeling there was a strong sense of righteousness in there underneath all that Dame-ness, he could just sense it – the same way he could sense the stupidity from Tsuna's father. It was a miracle that Tsuna turned out the way he did.

But anyway, the mafia is a very dark place. Tsuna needed someone to break reality to him and Mia just so happened to be the right person for that. Now if those two would just get together… He smirked and saw Mia flex her fingers. Yup, it would be so _fun _when they realize it. He could just imagine how the sex jokes and innuendos would affect Tsuna. Oh how glorious that would be.

He lowered his gun and chuckled.

"Am I going to live another day?" Mia asked.

One thing to fix though – she had that gift of getting under people's skin with words alone. Cheeky little brat. It was probably the best that Tsuna was there to make sure she didn't get herself killed with that smartass mouth of hers. Him and the rest of his future guardians. Once she's alleviated herself to Tsuna's wife, probably needed to have the protection of the whole Family… and CEDEF.

"Actually, you have until next month," he told her. He jumped out of Bianchi's lap and walked up towards her. Mia sat down on the floor, still very cautious but much more at ease.

"So why did I have a close brush with death?" she wondered.

"Just testing," he flippantly told her. She nodded slowly. "Anyway, I'll be training Tsuna physically from now on while you will be with Bianchi, learning etiquette and Mafia history."

He expected her to protest but instead she nodded again, looking quite thoughtful. Then he watched as her expression enlightened, like she had just realized something.

"Alright," she agreed. "But I want something in return."

He narrowed his dangerously eyes at her, letting out the faintest of his killer intent. She ignored it purposely. She had that look in her eye when she wanted something.

"Mia," Bianchi warned her. Mia kept her eyes fixated on him. Yup, this girl would definitely get herself killed.

"What is it?" he asked her.

"I want the Vongola Family's record. Everything, from its founder to its customs, I wanna know what Tsuna's getting into." She finished with a frown.

"You don't trust the Vongola?"

"No," she honestly told him. He could respect that; she is a civilian after all. But what she was asking was dangerous in itself. That kind of information could be exploited and the Family would be compromised. He had to make sure that it would stay with her only.

"I'll speak to the Ninth," he ominously told her. She kept her mouth shut – good. She understood what she was doing. "However if I am allowed to disclose this information to you, you will have to take the vow of silence."

_"Omerta…"_ She murmured quietly to herself. Reborn nodded.

"That's right. If you break that…" he trailed off. He didn't need to say more. She swallowed.

"I got it," she said in a small voice.

"Good girl." Reborn gestured to Bianchi. "Bianchi will tutor you. Work hard or I'll shoot you."

"No you wo-"

BANG! Reborn fired another round.

"I'll be quiet now."

"Hopefully you stay that way."

He needed the two of them to be ready because they were running on a clock. Their first obstacle was heading their way and there wasn't enough time for him to train both Gokudera and Yamamoto. He had just received an order from the Ninth… to apprehend the escaped convict Mukuro Rokudo.

* * *

><p><strong>Oho! Mukuro's appearance is high time near! I still got some other episodes to cover and the Mafia Land one will be a chapter all on its own since it's introducing two of the Arcobalenos. I got plot holes to cover and a historical relevance problem to fix that concerns the Arcobaleno. Busy! Busy! <strong>

**I'll be deviating quite a lot and Tsuna is much more confident here in my story but I will still stick close to canon. Prepare for timeskips my dear readers because there's a lot of it. Oh, and I'd like to warn some of you that if you're looking for romance only, sorry to disappoint. When I wrote this story, I had the following in mind:**

**Friendship**

**Adventure**

**Politics**

**Morality and then**

**Romance. **

**I'll be exploring the aspects of Politics here so if no one is interested in the subtle power play... well I still got a lot of fluff going on. **

**Note: I love writing Mastermind! Reborn. Its just so fun to literate his ideas, thoughts and plans.**

**REVIEW GUYS!**


	9. Ranking Prince Fuuta

**And so this will be the final chapter before the Kokuyo Arc where it introduces the last 2 characters. Now this one was particularly fun to write, partly because Mia is mad here and a bit of jealous Tsuna. Lol, wanna bet when the big confession of love will be? Will it be on a random chapter set in the Daily Life Arc or in one of the major arcs? **

**Even if any of you guys guessed right, you'll have to wait to know XD**

**Disclaimer: I don't own KHR but I did sacrifice eight hours just to write this chapter lol.**

* * *

><p><strong>Feelings and Perverted Doctors<strong>

Kyoko wasn't blind to how exhausted Tsuna and Mia looked when they went to class, Tsuna physically more so than Mia. The moment they got to the room, Tsuna would dump his bag beside his desk and just falls asleep instantly on it until Mia would gently rouse him. It happened so often it was considered a normal occurrence now.

Kyoko wondered what they had been doing… the other day she passed by through a neighborhood and had come across Mia confronting a strange man in a white suit.

"Dr. Shamal right?" she gasped. "Are you him?"

"As a matter of fact, I am and who you might be darling?" Dr. Shamal asked her, leaning closely.

She backed away and Kyoko could see that her clothes were partly singed and her hair was tied up into a hasty bun. Mia looked very uncomfortable but she steeled herself to what she had to do. Setting her shoulders straight and chin high she stepped right into his face, surprising him. "Doctor," she started. "Please, you have to cure my friend."

Dr. Shamal snorted. "You mean the little punk? Nah, I don't treat men." He leaned down instead, his face close enough that was merely inches away from hers. Mia held herself resolutely. "I'd rather much spend my time with you."

She looked at him straight in the eye. "I'd rather waste all of my time away from you but here I am," she shrugged flippantly. "So, are you going to come with me or not?"

The doctor pulled back, surprised. He smirked. "Aren't you spunky?"

Mia blew the loose strands from her face impatiently. "Reborn calls me a smartass but I prefer to be called an aleck." She muttered something and shook her head. "Alright, what is it that I have to do to get you to come with me?"

Shamal pretended to think about it. "How about… a kiss?"

Kyoko gasped. Mia looked disgusted but she didn't say anything. "The things I do for that idiot," she fondly said. Taking a deep breath, she screwed her eyes shut and elevated her head. "Okay, I'm ready."

Doctor Shamal stared at her and frowned. He opened his mouth but was interrupted when Tsuna came skidding from around the corner. He was breathing heavily and when he saw them he stood stock still. His eyes were darting back and forth from the doctor to Mia who still had her eyes shut. Kyoko could see the confusion, suspicion and over protectiveness in his brown eyes before they settled on the doctor accusingly.

"Um… are you going to leave me here hanging?" Mia suddenly asked. She shifted nervously. "Just kiss me already and let me get over it!"

Tsuna looked like he would have flipped his lid if Dr. Shamal hadn't flicked her on the forehead. Her eyes opened in surprise. Her confused stare had the man sighing.

"It's no fun to force yourself," He told her seriously. He sighed again. "I'd rather you come after me confessing your undying love."

She blanched at the very idea of it. "Yeah… no."

"Besides," Dr. Shamal looked behind her. "I don't do _little_ girls although I don't mind it if you come to me. Hey, come over here already." He gestured for Tsuna. Mia turned around. Kyoko couldn't see her expression, but Tsuna was an open book. He looked so relieved then, he smiled at her softly. Captivated by the side of Tsuna that she had never seen before, Kyoko continued to watch. He then looked at the Doctor and an expression of distaste crossed his face. The Doctor gave him the same look.

He took something out of his pocket. Kyoko couldn't see and tried to stand on her toes but she couldn't see what he was doing. Tsuna flinched and slapped a hand to his neck. He blinked a few times, looking a bit disoriented. He swayed on the spot and Mia steadied him. She glanced at Dr. Shamal questioningly.

"He'll be fine," he assured her. "But you know…" he flirtatiously said. "Once you're old enough, you and I could go out. I know a place."

Mia actually laughed. Kyoko couldn't understand how she found this so funny. Tsuna was looking at her the same way.

"Why are you laughing?" he asked her disbelievingly. "He's old enough to be your dad!" Precisely, Kyoko nodded. She was sure he was a nice man but he came too close for comfort.

Dr. Shamal glared at Tsuna. "Watch it kid, I don't care who you are but I am damn hot for all ages." He smugly fixed his jacket. Tsuna was unimpressed.

Mia giggled. "Dr. Shamal, thank you." She sincerely said to the doctor. Tsuna was still gaping at her like a nutcase until she elbowed him disapprovingly. They shared a look and Tsuna sighed, defeated.

"Thank you," he told the doctor. Dr. Shamal brushed it off with, "I don't need thanks from men – oh wait – I meant _boys_."

Another side that Kyoko hadn't seen, Tsuna actually _glowered _at the older man.

"Well then, let's go Tsuna." Mia tugged the sleeve of his shirt. "I feel like celebrating. Come on, my treat."

He looked at her and frowned. "What kind of treat?" he asked.

"Dinner." A smile tugged on Tsuna's lips at her reply.

"Brownie Biscotti for dessert?"

Mia knew where this was going and delivered her line, "If you'll carry the groceries."

Kyoko had never seen Tsuna look so comfortable than right then and there. Something fluttered in her stomach at the sight. He was just so… so… she couldn't find the words to describe how Tsuna looked then. She had a sudden thought… he looked at her the same way he looked at Mia. Thinking about it, her face grew hot and she flattened herself against the wall to place her hands on her face, trying to stop the heat in her cheeks.

When she looked back, they were leaving. Mia looked back on Dr. Shamal and grinned. "If you're still hot when I'm forty, let's go out Doctor!"

Dr. Shamal gaped at her. "I'll be seventy then!"

Both teenagers burst out laughing as they walked away. Kyoko was perplexed, not realizing it was a joke until she went home that night, thinking deeply in her bed. Mia didn't take it seriously. It took her a while to understand but when she did, she murmured, "What a strange person."

Now, Kyoko couldn't help but watch the group of friends. They don't look tired as they usually do and Tsuna was leaning back on his chair, choking on air as Mia was tricked into eating a seaweed flavored candy that Yamamoto offered her. She was spewing insults in Italian at who knows what while wiping her mouth furiously.

Her face was pinched as she stuck out her tongue. "Oh that is just gross. How can you people eat this stuff?"

The two Japanese boys grinned at each other and shrugged. Mia went to Gokudera to share her woes instead. There was a certain longing in there, as Kyoko continued to watch on. She was in a completely different world from theirs. She envied Mia although she admired her a great deal. She wondered if she can be a part of that. Just then Tsuna's eyes slid to the side to the meet hers and she shyly waved at him.

He fell off his chair.

Kyoko quickly turned back to the board but she slowly looked back. Tsuna had gotten up, rubbing the back of his neck sheepishly. Gokudera was fussing over him while Mia had this knowing look. Tsuna glanced back at her and the two of them blushed. They look away. Heart thumping, Kyoko decided.

She liked Sawada Tsunayoshi.

* * *

><p><strong>Confession and Exploding Lunch Boxes<strong>

Tsuna was ready to drop dead. His arms and legs were aching, he had a headache and lord did he just want some tea. Earlier today I-pin brought him his lunch and instead it was a box full of nitroglycerine. Here's the thing if no one knows what that is, nitroglycerine is a chemical agent that is _very _explosive. One drop could blow his classroom. Thank goodness that mess was sorted out. He collapsed on his bed and fell asleep instantly.

He dreamed of marrying Kyoko. He used to often have that dream but now it occurred less and less. He didn't know why – he blamed it on the exhaustion. But anyway, it went awesome… until he lifted the veil and Haru was looking back at him.

He woke up instantly after that, screaming and fell off the bed.

It's not that he didn't like Haru it was just… she wasn't his… type? Okay, she was way too pushy and too clingy. She's cute but… he could not believe how easily she falls for Reborn's lies.

"Dame-Tsuna, you are so pathetic." Reborn commented from his spot on the desk. Tsuna glared at his tutor. "Listen, I've had it with your pitiful daydreaming. If you don't confess to Sasagawa Kyoko, I will ban Mia from coming here."

"You wouldn't." Tsuna glared at him but Reborn continued on.

"Oh yes I would." Reborn experimentally cocked his gun. "I'd do it with a Thompson M192 machine gun."

"What?!"

Leon transformed into said gun and Tsuna looked at it horrified. "She won't be able to set a foot in here, I'll promise you that."

Sometimes, his tutor was a complete asshole. Reborn pointed the gun at him instead and he flinched.

"Call me that again and I will blow a hole through that head of yours," he threatened. Tsuna nodded slowly, too terrified to speak. He didn't even question how Reborn knew what he was thinking.

"Confess." Reborn repeated and this time Tsuna didn't have the heart – or courage – to say no.

* * *

><p>He tried; he failed because everybody was being fucking cockblocks. Like what the hell. The only time he was going to confess the universe thought it was funny to use his friends against him. Goddamn it. Miserable and dejected, he went home. He bumped into Haru who dragged him into a cake shop then Kyoko came in and then they were at his house with Mia there then everything just got awkward – <em>everything<em> _was just – what the hell is going on?!_

How the hell did they come to this? Not just Kyoko and Haru but Mia too?! All three girls had eaten a Gyoza bun that I-pin offered. Now they were dying and he had a limited amount of time to save all of them. He followed I-pin's directions to look for her master frantically. Eventually they found the guy – who was very suspicious – and the girls were saved.

Well everything just went dandy and he didn't even manage to confess when he finally had the chance. Kyoko just looked so happy that it felt like it was enough for him.

"Coward," Reborn snidely told him.

He really hated his tutor sometimes.

* * *

><p><strong>Mountain of Death<strong>

Mia finally had a day to spend time with her Pa, actually a weekend. She had come skipping to Tsuna's house at ten in the evening just to tell him in person how excited she was to go camping with her dad. He wasn't pleased with her visiting hour but he was happy for her and had promised to convince Reborn to halt her lessons for the duration of her father-daughter bonding experience. She was so thankful she hugged him, almost knocking him down on the ground.

Feeling good in her combat boots, she trailed behind her father as they got off a bus. Her father was a lean man, with straw blonde hair and blue eyes similar to hers. He was thin but had strong arms that he used to use when he excavated at sites. He wasn't the most outgoing person but he enjoyed teaching her things like how hard it was to sleep on the cold ground.

They were heading to the mountain when her Pa's phone started ringing.

"This is Nicola Matteis," he answered. His eyebrows furrowed into a frown. "I'm in a middle of a trip with my daughter… can we please reschedule?"

Mia could feel the crushing disappointment coming. Her throat tightened painfully. She knew that times with her father were rare but he had a job to do and she couldn't just monopolize his time to entertain her. She knew that it was hard for him to look at her, see her mom in her, and expect her to be there. It hurt but she loved her Pa. Reaching out a hand to his shoulder, her father paused to look at her.

"It's okay. I don't mind," she said. "They need you don't they?"

He looked down at his phone then at her. There was an apology in his eyes that Mia was so familiar with but she smiled understandingly anyway because she was just that kind of kid.

"Next time," he promised.

She nodded even though she knew there won't be one. "Next time."

He pulled her in a hug which she willingly did. He held her there, swaying on the spot. "My girl is so grownup."

Mia laughed softly. "That's because I'm just awesome like that." He let her go and pressed a kiss to her temple. After that, her father left and Mia was remained behind after convincing her Pa she would follow up home. She adjusted the strap on her bag, sniffing. It was such a waste, she thought. She might as well camp while she was out here so she did.

Never did she expect to find all her friends on the mountain she was on. She had come across them just as the boys met up with the girls and kids.

"Am I hallucinating?" she asked herself as she stood to the side.

"Mia-chan!" Haru gasped when she saw her, attracting the attention of everyone around. "Were you lost too?"

"Uh… no," she answered slowly. "I came up here deliberately."

"Where's your dad?" Tsuna looked around.

Mia awkwardly shuffled her feet, looking away from everybody. "He was called in."

"So you came alone?" And there's overbearing Tsuna.

"Yeah. It's great seeing you guys here but I'll be going now so…" she backed away slowly. She actually wanted to be alone right now and camping in the mountains sounded great. She could cry like a howling wolf out here and no one would bother her. It's not like she didn't know how. Her Pa thought her a lot of things out on the wilderness. This wasn't her first time camping.

"You're not thinking on spending the night on this mountain right?" Bianchi demanded suddenly.

Feeling annoyed, she frowned at them all. "You know, I'm kind of wondering what you guys are even doing here. Lost? There's a trail east just a little bit from here you can take to get down."

"Really?" Tsuna gaped at her. Mia fought the urge to tell him to go look at it himself. Instead, she waved at them goodbye and slipped right back into the trees.

Depressed and feeling the need to be alone, she went straight into a jog ignoring Tsuna's calls for her to come back… and practically everybody else's. She can handle herself. She knew how to fish and scour for food. Feeling the familiar sense of adventure swelling up inside her, she began to smile until she was jerked backwards by Yamamoto.

"What the hell?!"

"Sorry Mia, but we need you," he told her. He hauled her on to his shoulder like a sack of potatoes and took her back to where everyone is kicking and hissing. She couldn't believe them!

Actually, she couldn't believe how stupid almost everyone was here. The boys were dragged in by Reborn but the girls… her brain cells were dying just listening to their reason. Sometimes she wondered if Tsuna was attracted to ditzy girls. She didn't hate them but they don't make it easy to for her to hang around if they kept this up. By the end of their explanations, her expression was so dry everybody turned sheepish.

Mia sighed. "Alright, I know the way back. Let's go." She gestured for them to follow her and then after that she was coming back here. She needed her private girl time in the woods. It was that time of the month anyway.

Except things didn't work out the way they should have. Some things got a bit out of hand, a forest fire, Tsuna going into Dying Will Mode to put out the fire, Enzio growing to the size of Godzilla and then being chased by a giant turtle. In the end, Tsuna got hurt and Mia forgot her woes at the moment. Really, she can be sad another time.

* * *

><p><strong>Sassy<strong>

Mia was so mad at her friends when she found out that Tsuna was demoted to a _storage room_.

"This is a hospital!" She admonished them all. "It's not just Tsuna you guys are bothering. What about the other patients? You're noisy, you litter and _none of you even dispose properly_."

"Ano Mia…" Yamamoto meekly called out to her but she didn't listen, too mad at their lack of common sense.

"You're the oldest!" she pointed at Dino. "You are supposed to be responsible!" Dino looked down on his shoes, properly ashamed.

"And you two!" She glared at Yamamoto and Gokudera. "_Silence_." They straightened and nodded. Mia turned to Ryohei who flinched backwards at her terrifying temper. "I don't need to say anything. Catch my drift?" he nodded jerkily.

The girls in the background were slightly at the back, watching in silence as Mia reprimanded everyone. After that, she demanded for the nurse that was tending to Tsuna at the time. The woman came over and Mia, with her striking blue eyes, marched straight up to the nurse. A bunch of men entered the lobby in black suits. _Dino's men_, she thought offhandedly.

"Are you the nurse who's assigned to Sawada Tsunayoshi?" she crisply asked.

"Yes I am," the woman didn't back down.

"Tell me then," her voice took a dangerous edge that had the others standing on their toes. "Why is he in a room that's fit to be a morgue?"

The nurse sniffed haughtily. "He was disturbing the other patients?"

Mia lifted a brow. "Oh?" she said. "Care to elaborate on what he has done?"

The nurse told her side of the story. From what Tsuna said and from this woman said, Mia concluded that the nurse was stupid.

"So you mean to tell me…" she slowly said. "That you blame the commotion on a teenage fourteen-year old boy who is _disabled at the moment_? You think the patient has any control of the situation he's in?" She jabbed a finger at the nurse. "Is it not _your _job to regulate the number of visitors that could enter? To inform them the guidelines of the Hospital? To _make sure that the patient is comfortable and healing?_" The nurse was slowly being backtracked as Mia continued on. She couldn't even get a word in!

"You _had one job. _One _job_," she hissed. "Whatever reason you may have it cannot excuse the fact that you treated a patient so badly he had to be put in a room that is psychologically distressing!" The woman came in contact with the wall behind her but Mia wasn't finished yet.

"Now if you want your records clean and your superiors out of this, put him in a private room where he was _paid _to be or gods help you I will have this hospital _sued and be investigated_." The nurse, terrified bolted to do as Mia ordered. She turned back to the rest. They flinched.

"Th-Th-That was… amazing Mia-sama," Gokudera said, he was gaping at her.

She placed her hands on her hips. "I leave just to take a shower and this happens." She shook her head.

"Um… Mia-chan, can you really do that against the hospital?" Haru asked her tentatively.

She snorted and replied, "No." They stared at her, jaws slacking.

"I can't pay for the lawsuit but this would generate bad publicity on their case. If I push it, this hospital could even be shut down." Mia adjusted her pony tail, placing her tie in her mouth as he fixed her hair.

She said it so casually and so certain that it had Dino's men shaking hands with her in approval. Reborn merely watched in Bianchi's arms. Looks like those political lessons were working.

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><p><strong>The Ranking Prince<strong>

Tsuna was helplessly looked at Mia, who just shrugged at their current predicament. A young boy was in his room named Fuuta. He asked for protection that Tsuna was uncertain he can do because… well he wasn't that strong. Then Reborn came in and… _convinced_ him to take Fuuta in. Well the kid was right… he couldn't say no to him.

So far, I-pin, Lambo and Haru had gotten their rankings.

"So what's mine Fuuta?" Mia asks. Fuuta took in a moment to know her ranking. During that time, it was like the gravity switch was off and they floated to Mia's disbelief.

"Mia-nee's ranking is tenth for being Improvisational and…" Fuuta didn't finish as Gokudera and Yamamoto came in, breaking the boy's concentration. He quickly scribbled the ranking before Gokudera asked for his ranking next.

It was the usual Vongola ruckus that happened after that. Fuuta's ranks were dubious when it rains, they found out after he told Gokudera the wrong rank. Mia was laughing into Yamamoto's shoulder at the look on the bomber's face and then at Tsuna for his ranking.

"Hahi! There's a lot of people outside your house Tsuna-san." Haru pointed out the window.

Tsuna stood up and went over to look as well. "Huh? What in the world?"

Fuuta buried himself in Mia's lap. "Oh no! They know I'm here!" he cried. Mia did her best to comfort the poor boy. Pulling him in her arms, she pushed his head gently on her shoulder.

"It's alright," she cooed. "We won't let them get you. Right Tsuna?"

_Don't look. Don't look. Don't look. Don't look. Don't look. Don't look._

Tsuna slowly turned to look at her and once again, those blue eyes were pleading with him. It's bad enough his conscience was bugging him now Mia too? He sighed.

"Right."

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><p>Despite their careful planning of a distraction, they still caught up with them. Surrounded, Mia sheltered Fuuta by keeping him close. Tsuna stood protectively in front of them, feeling nervous. All he had done lately was strength building – can he really go against these Mafioso? He suddenly wished that he knew how to fight even just a little bit. The familiar spread of warmth from his head to the rest of his body filled him and suddenly, he wanted to better himself.<p>

It's ass-kicking time.

Fuuta had never been happier to be wrong about a ranking. He pulled away from Mia to write on his book of rankings. Mia had kept off some men by throwing sand in their eyes and just pulling every dirty move in the book until Tsuna dealt with them.

He finished scribbling just as the two were done. Satisfied, Fuuta leaned back to look at his new rank admiringly.

The flame going out, Tsuna heaved a sigh of relief. Mia similarly did so. They looked at each other and she raised a hand. They high fived and it occurred to Fuuta that he didn't tell her what her other ranking was. Oh well, he'll tell her if she asks for it.

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><p><strong>Oh man do I love fluff!<strong>

**I have nothing to say much, other than please review! **


	10. Investigation

**I think a few people are confused how this fic is written. **

**This is a rewritten story of KHR plus OC character. I stuck to the canon story line so if something wasn't mentioned, it went like it did in canon unless I say so otherwise. Sometimes I compress two or three episodes into one chapter so if the narrating is different and does not associate with the previous, it just means I have moved on to another episode. I have a lot of things in mind for this story - some to cover plot holes while others to have this epicness that I just love writing, the same way I do for TU. **

**Disclaimer: I don't own KHR but am a proud owner of a cat named 'Nura'**

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><p>Suspicious things were happening Namimori, Mia thought. She was in her room, staring outside her window. The town was silent tonight but she had a grim inkling that the same thing would happen again.<p>

The other night, she had taken a walk around the neighborhood, her insomnia struck, forcing her to exhaust her mind and body in order to get the rest she deserved. It was something she developed after her mother died and only happened in times of great worry. This time, she was worrying over inter-Family matters after a lesson with Bianchi. Just from the basics of the history, the Vongola Family settled their feuds with blood and death. From what Bianchi could tell her, the Family wasn't as brutal as it used to be after the Eight boss, Daniela, had taken over although the Family still held a fierce reputation.

If there's one thing about this matter that gave hope for the Vongola, is that it needs a woman's head.

Well a good head in general but still, go girl power!

How Tsuna will factor into it – that is _if_ he will be the boss – is the real question. There's a lot to worry about and it all got so much that she left her apartment for a walk. She had almost come to a full circle around the block when she saw the unmistakable pompadour hairstyle of the Disciplinary Committee lying in a pool of blood.

She called an ambulance immediately then went to see if the member was still alive. He was still breathing, she sighed in relief. But he had a bad head wound. Knowing basic first aid, she did her best to stop the bleeding. Afterwards, she noticed a peculiar object on his chest. It was a pocket watch. Mia picked it up. The hour hand had stop on eleven. Eleven o'clock. She frowned, wondering why something like this was lying around. She placed it back apologetically on the member.

The watch held nothing else of importance other than the strange message it held. There was no point in taking it, considering the watch was of low quality – there were scratches and dents on it and the gold was fading, showing the brass underneath. She didn't need it anyway but the police might think it's useful so she put it back. Moments later, the ambulance came.

Hibari was there, watching as they strapped the member on the stretcher. Mia didn't question why Hibari was there. Pretenses aside, Hibari is a good leader and he took care of his people.

"Little cub." Mia turned to him. "Tell me everything you know."

She crossed her arms, feeling a bit chilly and stared at the unconscious member. She told him the basics, why she was out walking, how she found the injured member and the strange watch. When she was done talking, she rubbed her arms. He noticed.

"Go home, tomorrow is a school day," he said.

Mia nodded. "Yeah. I'll leave it to you then." She turned around only to turn back again. "And Hibari, I would really appreciate it if you don't mention I was here…" she gestured at the scene of the crime. "I'll be going now." Not knowing if he'll honor her request or not she was making her way back when she heard Hibari say, "Don't catch a cold little cub."

Mia smirked to herself, feeling a bit pleased that she had been promoted from 'herbivore' to 'little cub'. Apparently, Hibari had caught on to her shenanigan over at the time when Tsuna was hospitalized. He never mentioned it but she liked to believe that he was impressed.

After that, the attacks came one after the other. Probably after the fourth or fifth attack, Mia sought out the disciplinary chairman. The school was tense because only Namimori Middle was being attacked – everybody was afraid who might be next. It was strange, she thought as she went through the hallway. The fearful whispers wafted in the air like a thick mist. Mia caught a few things here and there – like how Mochida had been confined at ICU due to his injuries.

She didn't like arrogant pricks like him but even she wasn't that horrible to wish something on someone like that.

So why Namimori Middle? There was an idea but she had dismissed it due to the fact that she lacked proof. Both her parents were archeologists – they specialized in theorizing of what really happened by using the relics they discover. Figure out the significance of an object, what it was used for, and find the connection between the recorded events and the people affected by it. That's what her Pa and Mama taught her.

Right now she was trying doing exactly that. She knocked on the Committee room and slid the door open. Hibari and Kasukebe stopped speaking the moment she stepped in.

"Little cub, get out." Hibari was sure nice wasn't he? She knew he was in a bad mood but felt compelled to find out the truth before anything happens.

"In a moment. I need to ask you a few things." She slid the door shut.

There were only two things that she could think of that could be the reason why Namimori Middle only. One, Hibari Kyoya. She didn't need to explain that. Second, this was a mafia-related affair.

The second one occurred to her after the fourth attack, when she realized that it was only Nami-chuu students that were being assaulted. What was the only thing at school that had importance to any outside influence? How about the Prince of the Mafia? Vongola Decimo?

That conclusion just branched out to several more and it hurt her head trying to find which is right. _Baby steps_, she told herself. Looking at anything other than Hibari's vicious glare, she nervously cleared her throat. Kasukabe was eyeing her at the side.

"Um… did any of the victims happen to have any watches found on them?" she asked. Kasukabe looked on at her in surprise but Hibari wasn't the least perturbed by it.

"There was."

Mia bit her lip. "Were the hour hands going in a clockwise or counter-clockwise manner?"

"Counter-clockwise."

_Think_. Clock. Tick. Time. Hour. Time as in a countdown? Why clockwise then or maybe the direction wasn't relevant? Counting down on what?

How did this fit with Tsuna?

The victims, think about the victims. What had they all had in common? Nothing. If they were after Hibari, only the Disciplinary Committee should have been targeted but that went out of the window when Mochida became one. Strength? Was it because they were strong?

"Little cub," Hibari growled. "Leave."

"Give me a second." She held a hand up to him, her eyes furrowed in deep concentration while her mind worked furiously. Confused, Hibari was momentarily halted and he stared at her.

Strength. Countdown. _Strongest Fighters_. Mia felt her jaw drop when it hit her. It was a system to lure Tsuna out! From her lessons, Mafia Famiglias always had bosses who were considered as the strongest of the family. If they were after Tsuna they wouldn't know where to begin because the identity of Vongola Decimo was heavily guarded. How did she know? She asked Reborn about it before why the lack of assassins.

But their system was flawed. There were people here who were stronger than Tsuna. They could have pinned him on the ground unless Tsuna was in Dying Will mode. If they managed to find him, they would definitely have found out for sure he was Vongola Decimo because he didn't have any other way to fight. That flame on his forehead was a dead giveaway. But how? How was she supposed to know when and who will they come after next?

She wished there was some way to rank all the fighters at school.

Wait.

That's it!

Ranking!

"Fuuta!" She exclaimed, startling both men. "Thank you so much for the help Hibari!" She made to leave but Hibari stopped her with a steel tonfa.

_Oh hell._ She panicked. Hibari will not let her out alive!

"Where do you think you're going _little cub_?" There it was. Mia could just _feel_ her death approaching. She had to be careful on how to move on from here. She chewed on her bottom lip and slowly turned to Hibari. Something came in mind that could either kill her or could get Hibari off her back for a while – assuming that Hibari _is _a _man_ and not some carnivorous beast in human flesh.

_Here goes nothing._

She crossed her legs and shifted uncomfortably from side to side. Looking up into Hibari's steel grey eyes and gathering her mad courage, she tried to give the impression of herself actually acting like a girl.

"I need to go to the bathroom," she told him. The nervousness she was feeling the whole time since she came in here was let loose like an overflowing dam. She knew he knew it was real and she wanted that.

He fell for it.

Kasukabe covered his mouth to hide his amusement. Hibari was unimpressed and had hidden his weapon.

Mia sighed in defeat, her shoulders dropping. She tightened her crossed legs and closed her eyes. "Hibari, please." She pleaded softly with _just_ a hint of urgency.

But no, pleading does not work on Hibari Kyoya. He's an alpha and he does not lower himself to the likes of a small animal like her. He actually _snorted_ at her, almost sounding disappointed.

She was a bit offended. Just a tiny itty bit offended but offended nonetheless. She'll get away from this without a scratch – just watch her.

She froze still and her eyes widened. The two were suddenly alert.

"Matteis-san?" Kasukabe cautiously looked around.

She let out a deep breath. "Kasukabe-san… can I ask you for a small favor?" She didn't look at either of them. The picture of shame, she evilly thought.

"What would it be?"

She paused. "In my bag back in the classroom, the inside pocket has…" she didn't continue it, appearing to be almost afraid of what to say next.

"Yes?" he urged her. The two exchanged glances that Mia most certainly caught. She smirked inside. They might have thought that whatever she was talking about was something related to the incidents.

"My napkin."

There was silence. It was broken by Hibari. "What?" His tone betrayed his expression. He was bewildered.

She impatiently sighed. "I need a napkin. _Now." _

"Does that mean you're…" Kasukabe trailed off.

"Possibly bleeding right now? Oh yeah," she snapped. PMS. God's perfect weapon for a woman and like any girl, she could sense the discomfort that men emitted when exposed to something so simple as a period. Men. Hibari even took an awkward step away from her like she was some disease. "I know you might kill me but it's not my intention to be bleeding on your floor before you even touch me."

Moments later she was running outside the Committee room smirking so widely that Tsuna was confused at her when she came back to the room. Ha! That will teach them to keep her there. Go girl power!

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><p>After classes, Mia was out the door before Tsuna could even call out to her. Hurt feelings aside, she had to make sure Fuuta was alright because when she asked earlier, Tsuna told her that Fuuta often went out and that was very alarming. The last time he'd seen the kid was a day ago. She didn't blame him because Reborn and a bunch of other things kept him busy but she just wished he kept track. If any mafia family kidnapped Fuuta…<p>

She passed the park when a tuft of light brown her caught her eye. Some very familiar hair that belonged to a certain child she was looking for.

"Fuuta!" she called out.

Fuuta turned around. "Mia-nee!" he exclaimed. She hugged him immediately, surprising the boy.

"Oh you know how dangerous it is for you to be out alone!" she scolded him and pulled back, scanning him for any sign of injury. "Especially now. Nami-chuu students are being attacked left and right."

His shoulders sagged. "I know," he said miserably. "My ranking book! It's missing and I have to find it!" Well that's bad. "I also made a ranking list of the strongest students for Namimori Middle." Now that's just worse.

"Fuuta I think it's safe to say that the bad guys have your book." She looked around to see if anybody was listening in to them. "Now let's go back." She stood up and took his hand but he yanked it back.

"No! We have to get it back." Fuuta looked at her, his anxiety causing her to actually listen to him but rationally, they can't.

"Fuuta…" she started but tears welled up in his eyes. She sighed. "Okay, we'll look for your book but only until five alright? I don't wanna be out here when it's dark."

Fuuta wiped his eyes with his sleeve and nodded. "Thank you."

They looked for it _everywhere_ and soon the sun was setting. Mia kept glancing at the sky then back at Fuuta. The boy was adamant to find his book and Mia didn't have the heart to say no to him. If anybody had taken that book… the consequences would be just as bad as if Fuuta had been kidnapped instead.

This had to be a Mafia thing.

Fuuta suddenly pointed behind her but she was too slow to react. Pain exploded at the back of her head and she fell like a sack of bricks. Her last thought being was, 'definitely a mafia thing'.

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><p>"Mia-nee? Mia-nee? Please, please be okay!" Fuuta's frantic voice woke her from the dark abyss. She could feel that she was lying down on something cold and wooden. She groaned and opened her eyes. It dark but dim enough for her to see. Suddenly she was conscious how head hurt.<p>

"Fuuta?" She weakly called out.

"Mia-nee!" He threw his arms around her neck and hugged her in relief. "I'm so glad you're alright."

Her head throbbed but she hugged him back.

"Are you alright?" He nodded. "What happened?" she asked.

"They kidnapped us."

"Who is 'they'?"

"That would be us."

Mia shielded Fuuta by keeping him close to her. It offered little protection but it was the best she could think of at the moment. With her head aching, it was hard to stay focused. There were several people standing on what looked like a stage. Even with the dim lighting and a possible-concussion, Mia could see that the curtains had been eaten away by moths and the wood was rotten. An abandoned building possibly?

"Haaaaaa? I thought we needed just the kid. Why did you bring the ugly girl?" Certainly a female. A bitch too from the sounds of it.

"Shut up byon! The kid wouldn't stop screaming so we brought her along!" Male. Mia blinked. She could make out some dirty blonde hair.

"You could have just knocked him out!" The bitchy girl shot back.

A third calm voice joined in. "That's not possible. She knows too much." He sounded smarter than the other two at least. He looked like he was wearing glasses and a beanie.

_What am I thinking_? She asked herself and blinked again. _Get your head straight Mia!_

But damn it did make things more complicated. How they even knew she figured out their grand plan she doesn't know and that was frightening. Will they kill her for knowing too much?

There was a cackle. An old man from the sounds of it. "Hehehe…" Correction: a perverted old man from the sounds of it.

"Eh? This super blonde ugly girl?" Miss bitch said disbelievingly. "She looks dumb! Are you sure you're thinking straight Chikusa?"

Mia didn't care who the hell Chikusa was but she was mad. She didn't mind being called ugly – her looks never had mattered – but just because she was blonde did not mean she was stereotypically stupid! Damn America for the blonde stereotypes! Without thinking she snapped.

"Are _you_ sure you even have a head? Why else would I be here? To be an extra in some drama flick?"

The blonde boy burst out laughing. "M.M got told off byon!"

"Shut up Ken!" The girl jumped down the stage and started walking towards them. Mia and Fuuta backed away. "I am going to make you eat those words blondie." M.M pulled out something long that Mia couldn't identify. A speak? A big knife? A skewering rod?

Despite the morbid thoughts she managed to say something back. "Maybe later, I'm sort of not hungry right now." Mia desperately thought of something, _anything_ to distract her future-murderer. M.M raised the unidentified weapon and Mia braced herself to shove or shield Fuuta. The pain she was expecting didn't come because a new, more chilling voice laughed.

"Kufufufu! M.M. let her go." The new voice ordered and M.M begrudgingly did as she was told although she was very vocal about it. Mia ignored it. Her fear suddenly making everything around her clear and straight, she was looking right at the boy that was sitting on the couch. Although she couldn't see his features, she could feel that he was the most dangerous of them all.

"I didn't expect someone to figure it out so soon," he said. "Tell me, which Family are you from?"

Mia could feel her forehead perspire and her hands were clammy. Beside her, she could feel Fuuta tightening his grip on her skirt. She wrapped a comforting arm around him and looked back on the figure sitting on the couch. She chose to stay silent. That was her mistake.

"Hmnn? Are going quiet now? Shame, it was fun listening to you." Mia felt her heart stop at the words he spoke next. "It seems we have a 'hit'."

"Blondie is a Vongola?" M.M. smirked.

Oh hell.

"It would appear so," the voice answered. The boy stood up and all of the others jumped down but him. They stalked towards her like hunters and Mia had half a mind to make a run for it with Fuuta but she knew they would never get far. They kept backing up until they hit something solid and _moving_. Mia slowly turned around and screamed.

Two identical disfigured humans with long razor blades for hands looked down at them through their eyeless round holes. _What_ _are they?_

"If you don't want to get hurt, I suggest you tell us who Vongola Decimo is so that we can end this little game." The boy – obviously the head honcho – said. She could hear the smirk in his tone, the confidence of ensured victory and hated it. Resolve like nothing before swelled and swept away most of her fear.

"Mia-nee…" she looked down at Fuuta. He was looking at her, terrified but had the same look in his eyes like she did. He understood how important Vongola Decimo's identity was and she was momentarily saddened that someone so young had to go through something like this. She nodded and gave him a small smile. Looking back at the boy, she stood straight with her chin held high.

"Well then I guess you'll have to play that game a little bit longer."

"Kufufufu, best wishes to the winner."

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><p><strong>So this update was shorter than the last few but I really just wanted this chapter to focus on Mia and her side of the story. This totally covers up Fuuta going missing. Mukuro has finally appeared and I am rearing to write the next few chapters which are revisions of the episodes. I'll be tweaking the dialogue, changing motives and feelings. The best part coming up will be Hyper Tsuna *squeals* Yup, this is gonna be awesome.<strong>

**And how many girls are out there reading this story? High five sisters for girl power! **

**Hahahaha**

**Remember dear readers to review! **

**REVIEW PLEASE**


	11. Mia!

**Lol, love the feedback for Mia. You guys are great! **

**So here is the next part which is written to explain how Tsuna thinks. I'll tell some of you now that here, Tsuna thinks a lot differently from canon and some things have been changed and if I didn't mention a certain part, just assume it went like it usually does in canon. OKAY? I'LL REPEAT THAT AT THE END NOTE.**

**Disclaimer: I don't own KHR but I do have a cheeseburger and cheeseburgers are food of the gods.**

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><p>This <em>could not<em> be happening. Onii-san can't be in the hospital! He's… he's… Onii-san! But he was and there was no changing it. The worst part of this is that Reborn told him that he had been given a direct order from the Ninth to capture the escaped convict Mokuro Rokudo who happens to be the reason why there were all these attacks against Namimori-Middle.

He desperately wished Mia was here but he hadn't seen her since yesterday when she suddenly left school. He hadn't seen her today either and he felt quite a bit concerned. His mentality was suffering in her absence after all.

Tsuna thought things were going to get better when they heard that Hibari-san was going to take care of the problem. The relief lasted for only five minutes when Kasukabe was suddenly brought in a stretcher. He was attacked right in front of the hospital. He felt a spike of pain shoot across his brain like flashes of an emergency light and it had been bothering him since he woke up. He just knew something bad was going to happen. Then Leon's tail fell off and Reborn told him he could only shoot him once.

As if that wasn't enough, Reborn had given him a copy of the Fuuta's ranking prowess list and on the number three spot, after Kasukabe was Gokudera. He ran out of the hospital immediately to find his friend. He got into a little snag along the way but he managed to find Gokudera. Thankfully, he seemed alright… until he had gotten a load of needles embedded into his chest after he shoved Tsuna away.

"Gokudera-kun!" Angry, he looked at the injured attacker. He was heavily injured from his and Gokudera's fight but he was still standing.

Sure Tsuna was pissed that his friend got hurt but he was also hesitant on going on the offensive because the guy was practically bleeding on his feet. Fighting didn't happen to be in his top ten things he loves to do after all but this was a guy who didn't negotiate judging from the fact that he was trying to kill him. He kept on dodging the needles that were being shot out of the guy's yoyos like bullets.

"I'll be taking you back with me, Vongola Decimo."

Reborn shot at him plenty enough, these things were _nothing_. However, they were troublesome and his opponent decided to change tactics and attack Gokudera instead. Luckily, Yamamoto came to save the day by slicing the yoyos. He stared at the bat that turned sword.

"Um…"

"The kid gave it to me," Yamamoto explained. Oh, well he'll worry about the complications of giving Yamamoto a transforming bat later – they had better things to worry about.

"Yamamoto Takeshi." They turned towards the injured opponent. "You're Ken's target. It'll be a pain to deal with you." He started to limp away. Tsuna was going to call out on him but then a bunch of people suddenly started running towards them.

"Oy! What are you boys think you're doing?"

"Yamamoto, come help me out!" He hefted Gokudera on one side while Yamamoto was at the other after sheathing his bat. Then they booked it as fast as they could. They originally planned for Gokudera to be brought to the hospital until Reborn found them and told them to bring him instead to the infirmary at school where Shamal waited for them. Tsuna thought the creep didn't treat men.

"He owes me a favor," Reborn told him. Well that answered it.

Tsuna looked back on his injured friend. His hands balled into fists. How could they hurt all these people just to get at him? The worst thing about this is that he couldn't do anything. Why? Why did it have to be him? Yamamoto placed a hand on his shoulder and Tsuna looked up on his friend.

"Ne Tsuna, where's Mia-chan?" he asked.

Now that Yamamoto brought it up, he felt his concern come back in full force. His brow deeply furrowed into a frown, his jaw clenching. "I don't know. I haven't seen her since yesterday." He felt uneasy. Maybe she just got a cold right?

"Mia is not the only person who's missing." All of them turned towards the new person who had just come in. Bianchi came carrying of what seemed to be a get-well cake of death for her brother. "How is he?" She stopped at the end of the bed, looking at Gokudera worriedly. The two of them took a step away from her because her cooking was emitting an acidic fume.

Reborn jumped on the bedside table. "He'll be alright." He told Bianchi.

She sighed in relief.

"Bianchi!" Shamal suddenly exclaimed, coming out between the curtains to give her a kiss. Bianchi reciprocated by smashing her get-well cake at his face. She left him on the cold floor with him clutching at his face. Both boys took another step away.

"Bianchi, what do you mean 'somebody else is missing'?" Reborn queried her.

"Fuuta is also gone," Bianchi announced gravely.

"This is bad," Reborn mused. "Both of them have disappeared especially at a time like this."

Tsuna paled at what his tutor was implying at. "You don't think they're…" he didn't let himself finish, just the thought of letting Mia in that situation again had his worry reach unbelievable heights. What was worse was that Fuuta was part of it as well.

"Maybe," Reborn said inauspiciously. "We shouldn't jump into conclusions." Tsuna swallowed heavily. He looked back at Gokudera. He was lying down on the bed, unconscious with an oxygen mask strapped on his face. The needles had been taken out – they were deep, he saw. Gokudera taken that hit for him and it hurt to be the cause of his friend's pain. He should have fought against that guy earlier, he thought to himself furiously.

"There's nothing to do about it now." Reborn's voice cut through his thoughts. He looked up at his tutor.

Reborn had his onyx eyes watching him. "Tsuna, I have to show you something." He took out a small brown envelope from inside his hat.

Tsuna took it and cautiously opened it. Inside were photos. Mug shots, Tsuna realized and one of them had the image of a very familiar face.

"It's him!" He pointed at the one with glasses. "That's the guy who fought with Gokudera-kun!" The black board he was holding said his name was Chikusa Kakimoto. Suddenly Bianchi and Yamamoto were at either side of him, looking over his shoulder to peer at the pictures he was holding.

"I'll make sure I'll blind him permanently," Bianchi promised.

"Hahaha! You'll have to get in line first." Yamamoto told her. His tone had a steel edge in it that had Tsuna staring at him at surprise. Bianchi studied the baseball star.

"Whoever gets first then," she said after a while.

"Deal."

Tsuna could not believe that they were talking about this right now. Reborn took his attention away by telling him Dino's report at the additional criminals that have seemingly joined Mukuro who was the scarred man at the central of one of the pictures. He looked through them, his expression becoming more anxious. Placing the pictures back in the envelope, he gave it back to Reborn who put it in his hat. Tsuna thought it was best for his sanity to not question how that worked.

"I… Reborn, can you come with me back home? I wanna get changed."

The hitman wordlessly jumped on to his shoulder. He made way to the door.

"Tsuna? Why do you want to get changed?" Yamamoto asked him. He stopped and looked back at his friend. He was severely uncertain. On one hand he wanted nothing to do with this but on the other hand, he could not just let them get away from hurting Gokudera and possibly kidnapping Mia and Fuuta. But he had promised himself he would do better because he didn't want to see anyone get hurt especially for his sake. So, in reply to Yamamoto's question, he said with all the conviction of a frightened soldier in his first assignment:

"To get back at Mukuro."

* * *

><p>"Tsu-kun? Are you going out to play? You're wearing your favorite clothes." His mother stopped at the door in his room.<p>

"Yeah, something like that," Tsuna replied absentmindedly.

Nana Sawada chuckled. "Tell Mia-chan hi for me!" She then went off and Tsuna felt a pang of worry at the mention of his best friend. He slowly lowered his shirt.

"Yeah…"

"Tsuna." Reborn was standing on top of his TV. He held out a single red bullet, the Dying Will bullet, he recognized. "Just a reminder – I can only shoot you once with this. I'll leave it to you to decide when." Tsuna didn't know what to say and just jerked his head into a nod.

Of course, no pressure at all.

"Yo Tsuna! I brought us some sushi and juice!" Yamamoto showed up, carrying two plastic bags.

_Does he think this is a field trip or something? _Tsuna sweat dropped but smiled gratefully at his friend.

Bianchi pushed Yamamoto away. "Are you trying to compete with me Yamamoto Takeshi?" She dangerously said while holding a traditional bento. Contained in it was her poison cooking. Yamamoto tried to edge away from her.

"Uh… why don't we just bring them together?" he suggested carefully.

Tsuna couldn't laugh in case Bianchi fed her cooking to him but he smiled. He turned to look at the window where he saw a head of silver hair poking conspicuously through the gate. Happiness forced his smile to widen and Tsuna was out of his room and through the front door in moments.

"Gokudera-kun!" He happily exclaimed.

The silver-haired bomber jumped but greeted him. "Tenth!"

Tsuna stopped in front of him and wondered why his friend was crouched behind the wall. _Right, Bianchi_. He realized.

"Gokudera-kun, are you feeling alright?" he asked. "You were pretty injured earlier." He frowned worriedly. Gokudera stood up and proudly thumped his chest.

"Nothing can stop me Tenth! Come hell and high water I'll always be there when you need me!"

Tsuna was touched that Gokudera felt that way. He suddenly had the urge to hug him – that was Mia's doing right there – and he stopped himself from being affectionate just in time to steady Gokudera, who slightly swayed on his feet.

"Are you really sure you're alright?"

"Uh… as long as Sis covers her face I'll be fine," Gokudera weakly said.

"Don't worry, I'll convince her to wear something."

Just for kicks, he had Bianchi wear a squirrel costume – it was the only thing lying around the house. This little deed had him in better spirits as Reborn led them to where Mukuro was hiding out. At that point, Bianchi had switched to goggles. She didn't seem to have noticed that Tsuna had pranked her. Reborn didn't say anything about it – Tsuna thought he approved of it.

They stopped in from of a tall gate. Tsuna looked around, finding the place familiar when it hit him.

"Ah! This is the Kokuyo Land!" He exclaimed.

"You know this place?" Reborn asked from his spot at Yamamoto's shoulder.

Tsuna nodded. "Yeah, mom and dad brought me here when I was really young. There was a shopping mall, karaoke station and even a Flora and Fauna."

"Since you know this place best, we'll leave you to guide the way," Reborn told him.

He nodded slowly.

Gokudera examined the chained lock. "This thing has rusted shut. They came in through another way."

Bianchi gently pushed him away – Tsuna was the only one who noticed this – and took out a plate of her poison cooking. "We'll be coming in the front door," she announced and slathered her cooking on the lock. It melted the lock like acid would eat metal.

Tsuna couldn't help the image his head conjured for him. If someone unfortunate ate her cooking… he shuddered violently.

* * *

><p>Yamamoto had fallen into the Fauna and Flora after being attacked by something that looked similarly to a dog. Apparently, the exhibit had been buried under all this dirt and Yamamoto was trapped in it.<p>

"Are you still alive Baseball nut?" Gokudera called down. It was dark but Yamamoto waved at them, seemingly unhurt. Something struck Tsuna like a deep cord. It rang in his head like a soft warning.

"Move!" He yelled, surprising his friends. Yamamoto, bless him, did as he was told and dodged. A humanoid figure lunged at him from the dark. Yamamoto took out his sword and held it at the ready.

"Whew, thanks for the call Tsuna!"

"You're welcome," Tsuna murmured, perplexed at himself. It struck again and Tsuna wasn't able to help himself from ordering Yamamoto.

"Left! Right! Duck!" His eyes were focused on something in the dark. What his eyes can't follow, his mind obviously did. Yamamoto wiped the sweat off his face, grinning. Gokudera and Bianchi were staring at him. Tsuna didn't look at them; he was intensely focused at the fight below.

"Yamamoto!" he yelled but it was too late. His friend had to fend his attacker with his sword. It broke and Yamamoto was thrown at the other side, smashing against the metallic frame of the exhibit. They felt the vibrations of his impact through the ground. Gokudera pulled out a stick of dynamite.

"No Gokudera-kun! You might bring down the whole thing on Yamamoto." Gokudera regretfully hid his dynamite. Tsuna knew it was hard too, to watch their friend fight while they helplessly watched.

Yamamoto had gotten up, groaning. "Man, I guess it's okay to be serious when playing the Mafia game right?" His expression turned serious. "I'll finish you off as quickly as I can."

A shiver ran up Tsuna's spine. For a moment, Yamamoto looked like a… a…

"Hitman." Reborn finished for him. Tsuna swallowed, unable to deny his claim. Yamamoto had always been a cheerful guy but there were times that his friend was… off. He didn't notice it but Tsuna did. Actually, he seemed to have noticed a lot of things lately.

"Big words for an idiot." A blonde boy walked into the light. He wore a Kokuyo Middle uniform and he held about three different sets of teeth. _Jen Koshima_, his mind told him. "That chick yesterday was smarter – at least she knew she was losing."

Tsuna's stopped breathing.

"Chick?" Yamamoto frowned. "Is Mia here?" he demanded.

"Not gonna tell byon." Ken taunted them. He took off his teeth and his features returned to normal. He put on another set and his arms and body grew. His facial features also changed to something animalistic, resembling a gorilla.

"Kong channel!" He charged towards Yamamoto. He jumped to the side.

"Whoa!" he exclaimed.

"What the hell?" Gokudera stared at Ken. "He turned into a monkey!"

"A gorilla to be accurate," Bianchi calmly corrected.

Ken switched teeth again and his hair turned white. "Wolf channel!"

Yamamoto was forced to stay in the middle because it was too dark to see. Ken kept lunging at him from all sides, using the dark to hide himself. His friend continued to dodge without any way to fight back. Tsuna couldn't take it anymore and his hands fisted into balls. Yamamoto was trying not to get hurt and he understood why. There was an upcoming baseball game soon and if Yamamoto were to get hurt, he wouldn't be able to play.

"I wish I could do something!" Tsuna dug his fingers in the dirt.

"Consider your wish granted." Reborn suddenly kicked him and he fell, arms flailing into the Flora and Fauna. He fell hard. He slowly got up.

"Heh, this one looks like he's weaker. I'll go take care of you first byon!" Ken switched once more. "Cheetah channel!"

There were shouts from above and Tsuna barely had enough time to react as he was knocked off his feet and on to the ground. He kept his attacker from biting into his throat by holding his shoulders away. A rock suddenly struck the side of Ken Joshima's head and he fell off of Tsuna. Tsuna quickly stood up, breathing heavily and turned to where the rock came from. Yamamoto stood to the side, tossing another one casually in his hand.

"This is between you and me. Leave Tsuna out of this." Yamamoto held out the rock. "So let's play ball."

"You wanna play?" Ken growled. The side of his head was bleeding. "You'll be dead first!" He shot like a missile towards Yamamoto. Tsuna was frozen still at his spot, watching as Yamamoto futilely threw the rock. Ken dodged it and lunged.

Yamamoto took the attack by holding his arm out. Ken sank his fangs into his arm.

"Yamamoto!" Tsuna screamed.

"Gotcha." Yamamoto held his broken sword and clobbered the other side of Ken's head hard with the hilt. His opponent fell, defeated. Both sides of his were now bleeding. Tsuna pitied him. He hoped that the blonde boy didn't get a concussion but…

"Whoops, I forgot to interrogate him." Yamamoto laughed. "We'll just ask someone else right Tsuna?"

Tsuna approached his friend, frowning worriedly at the bleeding arm. "Are you okay Yamamoto? There's still the baseball game."

Yamamoto smile softened. "Baseball is important but to me, friends matter the most." He flexed his arm experimentally. "I can still play with this so don't worry!"

Tsuna disapproved at his friend's optimism. He seriously almost got his arm bitten off and what happens then when that happens? "I'll stop worrying once we get you treated."

* * *

><p>They were going to stop for lunch but then the food exploded.<p>

Tsuna cried for the wasted food. RIP Yamamoto's sushi.

They took cover behind the stone tables. Gokudera listened intensely then pulled out dynamite. "There!" he shouted and threw it at the direction where the gift shop was. The bombs exploded, covering the whole area with smoke, dust and debris. When the smoke and dust cleared, a redheaded girl met them wearing the same uniform and was holding a clarinet.

"A girl?" Tsuna wondered. "Her name is M.M. right Reborn?" He turned to find the little devil sleeping. "Now is not the time to be taking a nap!"

"Back off you three, this one is mine." Bianchi hopped over the table. "I'll show you how to interrogate using the power of love!"

"What?" Tsuna gawked at her. That was the most ironic thing he had heard about love ever.

"Love?" M.M. said incredulously. She laughed like it was the dumbest thing she heard. Bianchi didn't like that and threw a poisoned crab at her. M.M. quickly retaliated and brought up the clarinet to her mouth. She played a note and the crab exploded in midair, similarly like everything else did.

"Wha-?" Tsuna couldn't believe what he was seeing.

"It's like how a microwave releases waves to heat up molecules," Bianchi explained. "Her clarinet emits a sound wave that creates vibrations that heat up molecules and cause them to explode."

"That's one crazy weapon," Yamamoto commented.

"Lame more like it," Gokudera corrected.

The girl turned towards them and snobbishly flipped her hair to the said. "Idiots like you won't understand how amazing my clarinet is." She turned back to Bianchi and smirked. "I'll show you that money is better than love! Once I'm done with you I'm going to get a date with Mukuro-chan and he'll buy me everything that I want!"

"Hmph. How pathetic. Don't you know little girl – love wins everything!" Bianchi said.

Tsuna was seriously missing Mia's comments right now. All this talk of love and money was starting to become very tiring to watch. Luckily, Bianchi seemed to think the same way and brought out a very stomach churning attack that had all three of them clutching their mid sections unconsciously.

"Poison cooking! Large scale buffet!" She then charged at M.M.

M.M. played her clarinet but the sound never reached her. Holding her cooking in front of her, Bianchi used it to block the sound waves then threw it at M.M. The other girl dodged and Bianchi tried to finish it with a poisonous shortcake. It would have hit her, if M.M hadn't revealed to be a close range fighter. Her clarinet changed into a nun chuck and hit Bianchi.

Yamamto made a move to step in but Gokudera stopped him by grabbing into his arm.

"She touched it." Gokudera's face paled a bit.

"Huh?" Yamamoto looked back at the fight.

Bianchi slowly got up just as M.M readied to finish her but she didn't get the chance to… because her clarinet dissolves, covered with gross purple stuff that Tsuna could identify as poison but how? Gokudera answered that with great pain.

"My sister can turn anything she can touch into Poison cooking… it's called Thousand Poisonous Flowers."

M.M. was on the ground, a line of poison dripping from the corner of her mouth. She convulsed then went still. Tsuna hoped she wasn't dead and used the power of ignorance to do so.

"Oh," Bianchi realized. "I didn't get a chance to interrogate her."

"Um… next time then?" Yamamoto suggested a bit fearfully.

Bianchi nodded then ran towards Reborn to make sure his nap wasn't disturbed.

* * *

><p>Their next opponent was a creepy old man who wore a middle school uniform. <em>Birds<em>, Tsuna remembered his name. He had a two or three strange yellow puff balls on his head that were birds. Weird, they looked more like flying tennis balls. As if Bird wasn't strange enough, he was a perverted sadist. He cackled at their expression when he showed a live video feed from his birds.

In two screens were Haru and in the other were Kyoko-chan and her friend Hana. Skulking behind them was identical frightening… were those even _human_?

"Haru! Kyoko-chan!" Tsuna watched as these things crept closer to them.

"These two are loyal to me. They're called the Bloody Twins and while they were under lockdown, they were had high criminal credibility, so high that they were never let out of solitary confinement!" He laughed at their expressions like a sicko.

If Tsuna thinks that scared him… well it did.

Gokudera rushed up to ball his fist into Bird's uniform. "Damn you perverted freak! I'll blow your brains out!"

"You'd might want to let go of me or else your pretty friends will become minced meat." On cue, the twins released a set of long nails and demonstrated how it could cut through metal. They stared at it, horrified. Gokudera grudgingly let go and went to stand right back beside Tsuna's side.

"They're under my orders so Vongola, if you listen to me I'll make sure not to have these lovelies hurt."

_That's a lie_! Tsuna thought but he still listened. There had to be something… _anything_ he could do.

"I want you to beat the Vongola Tenth."

There were protests from both of his friends but Tsuna wouldn't hear of it. Beaten up? That's fine. He had years of experience with that.

"It's alright you guys." He opened his arms wide. "I don't mind!"

"But Tsuna…"

"Tenth, we just can't…"

"The two of you are so weak." Bianchi threw a sharp uppercut underneath Tsuna's jaw. He went flying of course and landed hard a few ways back. Gokudera started arguing with his sister but she ignored him. "He's lucky that's all he got from me."

Tsuna was honestly grateful, despite his jaw aching. Bird did not look pleased. "I suppose I should have given a more _specific_ task." He lifted the cane he was holding and smashed it hard on the ground. The wood shattered to reveal a blade that hade electrical currents running up and down on it. He threw it where it landed in front of them with a clang.

"Vongola Tenth, stab yourself with that."

Tsuna was conflicted but in the face of his friend's lives in danger, he made a choice. He slowly walked towards the blade and picked it up. It cackled in his hands with sparks emitting from it. He looked back at the visuals being projected at the moment. The twins were poised to strike at the ready. Steeling himself, Tsuna breathed hard as he readied to stab himself on the leg with it. He ignored the others and was focused solely at stabbing himself.

Wow, that shouldn't be right. A lot of things shouldn't be right, he thought to himself.

Closing his eyes, he brought the blade down.

"Kyaaaa!"

Tsuna stopped just in time before the tip came close enough to graze his skin. He quickly looked up and saw that Shamal had appeared where Kyoko-chan was. He couldn't believe it! Shamal ushered the two girls away to deal with one of the twins where he gave one of them a disease. The Bloody Twin exploded in blood and guts and Tsuna turned away, unable to look.

"Remember! I still have another!"

True but then TYL I-Pin appeared with TYL Lambo and Tsuna will forever admire I-pin for her martial arts. She took down the other twin like a pro, kicking ass and just looking like a total badass.

"Looks like his instinct was spot-on."

"I'm glad I was did as I was told."

Tsuna suddenly remembered Reborn calling I-pin over before they left and a surge of gratitude for the hitman coursed through him. He was never honestly happier to have Reborn around like he did now. Gokudera, Yamamoto and Bianchi cracked their knuckles menacingly.

Bird backed up into a wall. "No wait! Wait! I can help you!" he pleaded.

Gokudera brushed it off aside yanked him to his feet. "And what could scum like you possibly do for us?"

"I know where your friend is!" Bird made a gesture. Another bird flew down and projected another new image, one that had Tsuna screaming her name.

"Mia!"

It was dark but there was enough light to show her. Her hair curtained one side of her face, her arms hanging and she was sitting, leaning against the wall like a lifeless doll with a few scratches here and there. She looked mostly unharmed but her blue eyes were empty and she was staring listlessly into nothing. She practically looked dead.

Bird looked like he wasn't expecting that either.

"She's still alive I swear she is!" he begged.

"You swear?" Gokudera growled. "On what?"

"On my life!" Bird said.

"If that's true then here." Bianchi suddenly forced him to eat her poison cooking. "If she is alive I'll come back to administer the antidote in two hours but if not…"

Birds choked and Gokudera let go of him coldly. The man jerked around before going still with froth coming out of his mouth. He twitched now and then to show he was still alive but they didn't care. Tsuna was shouting at the visual, calling her name as if she could hear him. He was too distraught to believe what Bird said. Reborn decided to punch him across the face.

"Get a hold of yourself Dame-Tsuna," Reborn told him. "We'll find her."

"But what if she's…" Tsuna couldn't bear to think about it.

"She's not."

"But how can you know?" Tsuna exploded. "Look at her!" he gestured at the image. "She's… she's…" his voice broke.

"Trust your intuition Tsuna." Reborn knowingly gazed at him. "You know she's still alive."

Maybe it was the desperation of wanting to believe it but Tsuna looked into himself and found that yes... he just _knew_ she was but it did little to comfort him. Why did she look that way if she was still alive? What did they do to her?

Gokudera cautiously came up to him. "Tenth, let's move on so that we can find Mia-sama and Fuuta."

Right. Yeah. He'll think about it later. He nodded and ran a hand down his face. He let out a shuddering breath. When he finds Mukuro… Tsuna shook his head to clear it. The image disappeared as the bird flew away but it didn't leave his memory.

"That girl will be the death of me," he muttered loudly. All around him, his friends smiled wryly. "Alright, let's go."

* * *

><p>When Tsuna encountered Mukuro Rokudo he used the final bullet to beat him.<p>

It was a cruel joke that the universe played at him when Tsuna realized he wasn't the real one. The hate that combusted inside him was blazing. He hated whoever Mukuro was. Hated how his friends got hurt, how Lancia got tricked to kill his own Family and how practically screwed up everything was. Sitting beside Lancia with the ring he had given him clutched at his right hand, Tsuna vowed to beat Mukuro. He didn't care that he had used the last Dying Will Bullet. He _will _fight Mukuro.

It wasn't over yet but Tsuna was determined to end this and come out of it winning.

* * *

><p><strong>IF I DO NOT MENTION SOME SCENES JUST ASSUME IT WENT LIKE IT DID IN CANON<strong>

**ALRIGHT?**

**Alright.**

**So what has happened to our dear female lead? Nah, I'm not that cruel to kill her off but I'm not dumb either to do a winning ass-pull. Let's just see okay? Dear readers, I also wanted to thank for your reviews. They're awesome and I just want you guys to know that it makes me brighten up especially now that this part of my life is very stressful. I know college is usually like that but now I got a grandfather who's in the hospital right now after surgery and a load of financial problems. **

**I feel so drained of energy but when I think of my reviewers and the fun shit I do when I write, read or just say I just feel better. **

**So thanks a lot and I hope you guys look forward to the next one.**


	12. To Want

**So last chapter was my revised version as a lot of you can see I really did stick to canon. My reason why I just didn't change everything was because there are scenes in KHR that I believe were key to character's development. Some of the fights I really want to keep but in this case, it was written in Tsuna's point of view. I just wanted to show how different he is in his thoughts, words and actions. **

**Moving on! **

**Disclaimer: I don't own KHR but I own my brain and without my brain, this story wouldn't have happened.**

* * *

><p>She was weightless.<p>

She was cold.

She was _empty._

Mia was so very tired, her body had long ago shut down to keep her mind isolated from any outside influence. Mukuro didn't even need to touch her to hurt her. It started as mild illusions – alone in the dark with nothing to hear and see – to extremely terrifying ones. Mia couldn't speak of it, wouldn't cry out loud. Fuuta had long disappeared from her side but she couldn't think of him right now. _She _was alone. Alone to suffer this torture that she couldn't turn her eyes away from.

This had been going on for a while now, after Mukuro saw fit to use illusions on her. She didn't know how long it's been. Time was a distant concept when your mind's perception of reality has been stretched to its thinnest.

He showed her a lot of things – that sick bastard – and it was everything she could do to stay… what? Stay what? She struggled to recall any happy memories and unpleasant ones resurfaced to haunt her – her mother's death appeared the most.

She remembered well how she died. She knew it _very well_. How could she not? She was there when it happened. When her mother reached out for her hand when the floor started to cave… when they were finally able grasp each other's hand… when he mother yanked her off the unstable floor, the action causing the section beneath her mother's feet to give away… Mia had been left to reaching into hole, her hand empty and her mother's face burned into her mind. The thing that haunted her most though – it wasn't the expression of her mother's face but of the hand that still reached out to her.

She was young and she was weak but she blamed herself anyway. The following things that came after were a blur and she was unable to recall what happened… until now. Flashes of suppressed memories blinded her and for a moment, Mukuro's illusions weren't effective. Her fear was thrown off by the absolute disorientation from the memory rush and her mind throbbed with pain that came with it. She didn't know when the fear ended and the thoughts began but suddenly she could feel her grip on the situation returning.

The illusions no longer tormented her – no, that wasn't right. They were still there and still affect her the way it should have but she… endured it. She didn't know exactly what she was doing, but slowly, the illusions became easier to ignore and she focused on her thoughts, random thoughts that were neither positive nor negative but just was and she stayed there until they withdrew and she was left gasping on the floor on her knees and hands. Her eyes watered and she furiously blinked them away. She also fought the urge to throw up – she still hadn't forgotten half the things that Mukuro showed her.

"How rare," Mukuro commented as he watched her pull herself together. "Your natural resilience against my illusions is astounding."

Mia wanted to say something smartass but she curled in into herself instead, greedily sucking in breaths of air. Never had she gone through something so tiring in her life to the point it made her body wretch so miserably as this.

Forcing herself to look up, her eyes scanned the dim area until they landed on Fuuta. He sat at the edge of the stage, holding his book tightly to his chest while his eyes were scarily absent of emotions.

"Fuuta?" she croaked out but he didn't seem to hear.

"Kufufufufu, Fuuta-kun here gave in pretty easily." Mukuro angled his head towards Fuuta. "Isn't that right Fuuta-kun?"

"Hai," Fuuta hollowly answered.

"Now then," Mukuro turned back to her. "I think you'll be quite happy to know that Vongola Decimo and his group are here."

Hope bloomed in her chest but it was crushed immediately by force of rationality. Mukuro _knew _who the Tenth boss will be and by the sounds of it, he had something planned. So why?

"Why am I still alive?" she asked, unable to keep the tremor from her voice. "You don't need me anymore." Fuuta was important than her and most of Mukuro's crew thought nothing of her other than she was a lackey. Why was she still here?

"Are you so prepared to die?"

"I was just… wondering." She forced herself to stand up.

The room brightened a little and she looked into his two colored eyes. He smirked. "Because you'll be an interesting toy."

This time, she felt the attack sink deep into her mind. She couldn't mentally prepare herself against the suffocating dark force that now penetrated her walls. There was no defense, no counterattack this time because she was tired already. This wasn't an illusion – was all that registered in her mind before her eyes rolled to the back of her head and she collapsed on the floor, unmoving.

Mukuro jumped down the stage and walked towards the girl's body. She was resilient against illusions but what about mind control? There was only a small percentage of someone being able to bear with the mental strain of an illusion but it was even rarer for someone to be resistant to mind controlling. To find a person who was either of the two was very interesting.

He picked her limp body up and carried it to the couch where he laid her there. He closed her eyes then covered her with an illusion to keep her hidden. Afterwards, he sat down on the couch and waited.

* * *

><p>Tsuna was silently brooding as they went inside the main building. He had a new set of clothes on thanks to Bianchi and Reborn was gracious – his word's not Tsuna's – enough to give him Dino's old whip. While they walked, Lancia's words were bouncing around in his head.<p>

"_Both of them are alive_._ But… I can't assure you that they're alright_._" _

He could have said more, but Chikusa suddenly attacked them and Lancia took the hit. His jaw clenched. He was so sick of having people get hurt for him, first Gokudera, Yamamoto and now Lancia. Tsuna didn't think he could handle it if anyone died.

Still, he was more worried than before now if that was possible. Both Mia and Fuuta were here and god know's what happened to them. Tsuna tried not to think about it but when left alone with his thoughts he really couldn't help it. He was so tense in fact; he jumped three feet in the air when Gokudera stepped on a can.

"Tenth, are you sure you're alright?" Gokudera worriedly asked him.

"Yeah I'm okay," he tried to assure him but his friend didn't look convinced. "It's just I feel a bit worried for leaving Yamamoto and Lancia-san all alone outside." He frowned, realizing that he was worried about that too.

There was an unspoken "and practically everything else as well" that no one wanted to point out. Gokudera decided to drop it there. Tsuna was grateful for his concern but there was just too much on his plate. Things just seemed to get worse when Gokudera picked up a sleek beaten up black phone from the ground.

Tsuna recognized it. "That's Hibari-san's!" Then he remembered something that had a laugh bubble up to his lips. Maybe he finally snapped, Tsuna thought but he couldn't stop laughing.

"Tenth?" Gokudera looked more than a little freaked out.

He covered his face with his hands. "Pfft… Hibari-san's ring tone is the school's anthem," he snickered.

"L-Lame!" Gokudera pinched his lips together and chuckled. When Tsuna stopped laughing, he was smiling faintly. His worries didn't seem to have disappeared but he certainly felt better. If Hibari-san were to know that they've been making fun of him… the prospect of actually looking forward to something made Tsuna calmer even if it was death at the hands of the demon prefect.

"Tenth, let's all hang out once we're done with this." Gokudera was smiling.

Tsuna nodded. "Ahhh… but I want to be somewhere else other than my house. I'm sick of being cramped up in my room."

"Understood Tenth!"

Tsuna wanted to finish this and settle things with Mukuro once and for all. He was done with the games; he wanted his friends and normalcy back. He also wanted… his cheeks heated up lightly. He wanted a hug. Sue him but he wanted a goddamn hug and not just any hug but Mia's hugs. Hers were always the best because when she gives one, she puts everything into it. Never had he appreciated a hug more than hers but more than that… he just wanted to know she was safe.

"Fuuta?" Bianchi called out and Tsuna snapped his head up. Indeed, Fuuta was the very end of the hallway, staring into space. When he heard his name being called, Fuuta did not respond. He instead disappeared into another corridor. They chased after him but when they rounded the corner – he was standing in front of a glass door at the very end of it. They went after him again but the room they entered was empty.

"How did he get so far?" Tsuna wondered.

"Tch. Mukuro's playing with us." Gokudera grounded his teeth together. "That bastard's gonna get it when I shove my dynamite up his – "

"Quiet!" Reborn ordered. He pointed to an emergency ladder at the far wall. "Fuuta must have gone up those ladders. Shut up and let's move."

"I can't let you do that." A voice declared.

They turned around to find Chikusa standing there, his yoyos whirring in his hands. Gokudera stood up front, pulling his dynamite out. He glared at Chikusa.

"Ready for round two?" He taunted the enemy.

"Gokudera-kun! What are you doing?"

Gokudera tilted his head backwards to give his boss an easy-going smile that wasn't normally seen. He raised a thumbs up. "Go ahead Tenth, I'll deal with this guy."

"But…" Tsuna started.

"Mia-sama is probably waiting Tenth." Gokudera didn't look back at him when he said it and Tsuna was rendered absolutely speechless. "She must have been terrified to be protecting Fuuta all on her own." Tsuna swallowed heavily. He had never thought about it that way before but now that he did, Gokudera was right. This wasn't even her fight to begin with.

Sensing that they were on the same thought Gokudera threw his bombs. The lids popped open and smoke came out.

"Smoke screen?" Tsuna exclaimed.

"Hayato!" Bianchi said.

"Go! I'll be fine." He assured them.

Tsuna wanted to stay and help but Gokudera was also right. Mia and Fuuta cannot be left alone with Mukuro any time necessary. Steeling himself, he turned his back on Gokudera, choosing to put his faith on his friend instead. Bianchi hesitantly followed.

"Gokudera-kun, you better be in one piece when I see you again!" Tsuna said before he climbed up the ladder, remembering the first time they met. Then he went up.

* * *

><p>They entered a large room of what seems to be the remains of what a theater used to be. It was sort of dark but Tsuna could see enough. In fact, his vision singled out one thing in the room – a teen sitting on a couch on the stage with his hands folded together. Without meaning to, his expression turned into a deep frown as his mind pieced together the strange Kokuyo student's questionable presence here. Mukuro Rokudo had <em>been<em> there. He _talked_ with him and knew there was something off. How could he have missed something like that? He thought to himself angrily.

_Probably because you were being Dame_, his mind told him.

_Shut up._

_No you shut up._

_Why the hell do you sound like Reborn?_

_Because your consciousness associates criticism with Reborn who has got to be the toughest critic around… more so than yourself._

_Yeah… he's an asshole after all._

"GAH!" Tsuna clutched the back of his head where Reborn kicked him. "What was that for?" He angrily exclaimed.

"You were calling me something unpleasant Dame-Tsuna." For his size, Reborn loomed on him like an intimidating tower. Cowardly senses kicking, Tsuna 'Hieeeeed'.

"Kufufufufufu!"

Tsuna didn't let him get away with that. He pulled the whip from his side and held it; Bianchi did the same and brought out two plates of her poison cooking. He glanced briefly at her – noticed how cool she looked – and hoped with all his heart that he did not look like some puny wannabe fighter. He wanted to look strong at least but he was so lanky it was laughable.

"Where are they?" Bianchi demanded. Maybe he should let Bianchi do the talking here. Besides, she looked way more intimidating.

"Dame-Tsuna you are such a wimp," Reborn commented lightly by his side.

"Shut up!" he hissed back. Thankfully, it didn't seem like Mukuro heard as he addressed them by raising his arms welcomingly. He gave them a smile that had Tsuna gripping his whip tightly.

"Why… they're right here." Bianchi suddenly dropped the plates she held and they crashed to the floor.

"Bianchi!" His eyes widened. Fuuta had appeared out of nowhere and had stabbed Bianchi on the stomach with a three-point weapon. No remorse, not even a hint of emotion as Bianchi collapsed on the floor, bleeding and unmoving. Fuuta turned his sights to Tsuna. He back away slightly.

"Fuuta? It's me – Tsuna!" He sidestepped when Fuuta made a motion to stab him. Turning quickly around, he grasped the younger boy's wrists tightly. Fuuta struggled to get his hands free but Tsuna was older and was stronger by default. He shook his hand until the trident dropped.

"Fuuta…" Tsuna could not believe it. Mukuro had Fuuta under mind control. As Fuuta struggled, there was a look of hate just underneath the surface of his blank eyes. He could tell – Fuuta's hate and it was all directed at himself. That thing that was inside of his head that usually bothered him came back again. It niggled gently, coaxing the words out before he even thought about saying them.

"It's not your fault Fuuta." Fuuta stopped struggling to look at him. He could see as Fuuta's eyes turned clear and shiny.

"Tsuna-nii," he whimpered.

"Fuuta." Relieved, Tsuna started to smile but as tears started to gather, an intense look of pain twisted Fuuta's expression and he clutched his head. He staggered a bit then fell unconscious. Tsuna scrambled to catch him.

"Fuuta?" Tsuna said, alarmed.

"It seems that you have caused him to 'crash'. He's been under quite a lot of mental strain for the past few hours," Mukuro told him. Tsuna set Fuuta down on the ground gently then turned around to glare at the other teen. He held his whip again and started to walk towards the stage.

"Oya, what a scary look you have on your face," Mukuro commented. He stood up and held out his hand. A staff appeared and Tsuna stopped, terribly confused. "Kufufufufu, it seems that Chikusa had been successful of disposing Lancia before he could tell anymore." Mukuro slammed the butt of his staff on the ground and columns of fire suddenly appeared.

"What the hell?!" Tsuna exclaimed as he skittered back to avoid the flames.

"Kufufufu. Sawada Tsunayoshi, Vongola Decimo, it will be a pleasure picking you apart."

* * *

><p>Fighting Mukuro was no joke. Tsuna honestly just wanted to punch him in the face – his whip was useless and was left forgotten – but the guy uses illusions which screwed with his mind. He didn't even imagine that something like this existed but he sees it and he's forced to believe it. Mukuro was explaining his abilities – why do the bad guys always do that? – and Reborn was calmly talking back like it was some business conference.<p>

He had scratches all over him and Tsuna was pretty sure that Mukuro was laughing at him from the inside. The guy didn't even look injured at all. He thought that he would have been done for sure until Gokudera and Hibari came. Both looked worse for wear but Tsuna was more than impressed at Hibari's will to kick Mukuro's ass or in his case – bite him to death.

Someone _finally_ managed hit him and Mukuro was down but despite that, Tsuna didn't feel too easy. After taking down Mukuro, Hibari had collapsed, his injuries being too much to handle. That wasn't the end of it though because Mukuro decided to traumatize him by shooting himself in the head. To say Tsuna was horrified was an understatement. Sure he wanted to beat him but suicide?

He had frozen on the spot until he heard Gokudera's cry.

"Sis?!" Gokudera was kneeling beside Bianchi while his hand was over his bleeding chest. The sight of his friends injured, shook Tsuna up and he forced himself to get his head back on to his shoulders and turned away from Mukuro's body.

"H-H-Hayato?" Bianchi slowly got up.

Shiver went up Tsuna's spine.

"Gokudera-kun get away from her!" he shouted.

Gokudera had managed to dodge but Bianchi had scratched him with the trident that Fuuta was holding before. Tsuna knew what this was… he just hoped he was wrong. Bianchi's shoulders shook and then she started laughing that made the hair on his neck rise.

"I'm ba~ack."

Oh.

"From."

My.

"Hell."

God.

* * *

><p>It was like a zombie movie – everyone around him were mindless puppets that were out to get him. Instead of eating his brain though, Mukuro wanted to possess his body – which was <em>so disturbing<em> on so many levels – and rule the mafia world then the entire world. If Tsuna could, he would have tipped his hat, hop on the nope bus and leave for nopeville forever. He was surrounded and he was getting beat like a rag doll.

"Is that it?" Mukuro asked through Ken's body, disappointed. "Your friend has shown more tenancy than you have." He gestured back on stage and Tsuna's heavy eyes followed. Like watching a mist lift and disappear into the air, the curtain that covered the couch vanished and a body appeared with long blonde hair appearing like an image from a fairy tale… a dark fairy tale.

Tsuna went still. Mia looked like she was sleeping. Her hands were clasped together on her stomach but on closer inspection her skin was so white – deathly pale. Sweat glistened on her forehead and her breathing was ragged.

"What did you do to her Mukuro?" Reborn demanded.

Mukuro shrugged. "Right now she is resisting my control… she's a very interesting individual."

"Mukuro!" Tsuna yelled and threw himself at Ken. He ended up getting kicked aside but he got up on shaky legs.

"Damn it." His hands fisted into balls. "Damn it!" he said again. He wanted to cry at his own weakness. She was so close…

"Tsuna." He turned to look at his tutor. Reborn was looking at him, holding Leon but Tsuna wasn't focusing on the chameleon, he was looking right into Reborn's eyes. "What is it that you want to do?" he asked.

What did he want? He wanted everybody to be safe and happy, he wanted to laugh with the others again but right now, in this moment there was nothing more important than beating Mukuro and come out of it winning.

"I want to win." Tsuna declared.

Then Leon burst into light.

* * *

><p>There were things that Tsuna regretted in his life that he wished he could have done but was too cowardly to do. The Dying Will bullet helped him with that by just casually throwing his fears – and his dignity – aside. He would never admit it, but afterwards he would feel satisfied and even happy that Reborn forced him out of his comfort shell to do what he had to. It made him feel useful again.<p>

But the Rebuke bullet was different. Where the Dying Will bullet took strength from regrets, the Rebuke bullet however took its power from his resolve that was the product of hearing people's live rebukes. It was weird and a little but annoying that he can hear them. First Kurokawa – seriously? – then his mom, Haru, Kyoko-chan, and Lancia. His stomach gave that queasy but pleasant feeling when he heard Kyoko-chan's rebuke. To know that she was so worried for him made him feel sorry and happy at the same time. The last rebuke however was completely unexpected.

"_Tsuna… you're such an idiot you know that?"_ That fond, exasperated tone that he would know anywhere else, he had heard it countless of times when he did something stupid. He could just picture her face: her expression was a mixture of a frown and amusement, her mouth set in a lopsided smile, and her blue eyes glistening like the blue sky as she teasingly rebuked him.

She was unconscious but she was still fighting right? Mukuro said it himself that she was still resisting. If she was fighting then he couldn't be lying down here doing nothing. He needed to get back up. He wanted to hear her tease him, laugh at him, _anything_. So he got up. When he did, a surge of overwhelming calmness engulfed him. Warmth like never before spread from his head to the tip of his fingers and he flexed his hands instinctively, feeling the strange material against his skin.

If he dies here, he can never spend his afterlife quietly.

"Kufufufu… Finally."

* * *

><p><strong>Heheheheh... I'm such a teaser. Well guys, look forward to the next chapter for when HDWM Tsuna shows up and a nice romanc-y moment happening. Still not at the 'I love you' stage though, that's way too fast.<strong>

**REVIEW PLEASE**


	13. New Found Feeling

**Well dear readers, this chapter concludes the Kokuyo Arc. We're finally done with that and is now entering the Daily Life Arc once again! I actually had a hard time altering the fight, I'm pretty sure that with the Ring conflict it'll happen again since Mia isn't even directly involved in it. But oh well, let's just see how I'll deal with that when it comes.**

**Disclaimer: I don't own KHR but I have this gift of writing and that makes me very happy**

* * *

><p>Hyper Intuition.<p>

That's what Reborn called it. It was no wonder he could sense things the way he could. He had always thought it must have been his imagination but it turns out to be a genetic gift passed down from the First Boss. He had never wanted anything to do with the Mafia but here it was, proof. Proof that he was connected by blood – a connection that could not be severed easily as he once thought but despite that, he was thankful for it because now he was on even grounds with Mukuro.

He had 'seen' through Mukuro's attacks with his intuition and had managed to defeat Ken and Chikusa. He did the same with Gokudera and Bianchi without hurting them anymore than they were.

There was a clap and Tsuna turned around. Mukuro stood on stage with his trident at hand, smirking down at him.

"Nicely done Sawada Tsunayoshi," Mukuro complimented him.

Tsuna didn't want to hear it though. "Get down here."

"In a minute." Mukuro turned his back to him and before he could do anything, Mukuro scratched Mia with his trident. A sense of horror welled up in him as Mia shuddered then gasped. Her eyes flew open but Tsuna couldn't see them. She turned her head and Tsuna saw the same glassy look that Fuuta had. She sat up slowly, her hair hiding her face.

"Kufufufufu, can you bring yourself to fight her Vongola Decimo?" he taunted him. Tsuna couldn't reply. He stared at Mia as she hopped down the stage, holding the trident that Mukuro had handed to her. When she raised her head, Tsuna could not find the words to say to her like he did with Fuuta. She approached him slowly and Tsuna turned his eyes away for a moment to see Mukuro smirking with satisfaction.

Tsuna grew angry. He was going to go around Mia to strike Mukuro but Mia moved with surprising agility and met him halfway. She almost stabbed him but luckily, he jumped back just in time while dodging a kick to the head. He didn't think Mia could fight like that but he supposed it was Mukuro's doing. It was a good thing that Mia wasn't a fighter all that much because compared to everything else, her attacks were light. But she was quick.

However, Tsuna was quicker. He blocked all of her attacks then quickly disarmed her by flicking her wrist into an upward motion that forced her to let go of the trident. It flew several feet away and landed off to the side but despite that, Mia did not give up. She actually _head butted_ him hard. Mukuro whistled in the background as he stumbled backwards.

Goddamn pineapple spectator.

He did not want to fight Mia – he would never think of laying a hand on her at all. He tried to do the same thing he did with Gokudera and Bianchi however Mukuro had expected it and Mia's head whipped around to take the brunt of his hand. Tsuna couldn't stop it and in a few seconds, she was on the floor, a mark forming on the side of her face.

He had hit her. _Hurt her_. The one thing he promised himself he wouldn't do and he did it. Perhaps he was overreacting; he didn't hit her in a way to actually hurt her but…

With speed that he never expected her to have, Mia lunged at him while he was stunned. Her slim fingers wrapped around his throat tightly and they fell backwards. Tsuna grabbed on to her wrists but not wanting to hurt her again made it hard for him to resist. He choked as her nails dug into his skin.

"Tsuna!" Reborn was alarmed at how quickly his student lost his will to fight.

"No!" he choked. He will _not_ hurt her but he couldn't do nothing either. He didn't know what to say to make her come back to her senses but there was only one thing he wanted to say. "Mia!" She had to be in there. She had to. He will not believe that she gave up that easily.

* * *

><p>It was cold and dark, two of the worst things in the world when you're half-dead in your own mind. Her eyelids were heavy and the silence was deafening. Through it all, her thoughts were dull and winded. The overwhelming force kept her curled into a tight ball. She just… gave up.<p>

But something stirred her.

In this dark place where no light and sound reached her, something all too familiar chimed in her ears. What was it? Was that… her name? Who was calling out to her? Aware that the feeling started to return to her fingers and feet, she could feel her hands being heavy. She struggled under the dark force, the desire to know, to _feel_, growing more intense by the minute. Pain like you wouldn't believe pulsed through her mind and she could register nothing but the blazing inferno that clashed within.

Yet she still wanted to push on even if it burned because the most unreachable things are the most desirable.

**~ Skip ~**

Something happened that he couldn't explain. Mia just froze on top of him and her fingers loosened. He gasped for air. He coughed then looked up at her. Mia was staring through him as if she was seeing something he couldn't see while her hands were on his chest now.

"Mia?" he tentatively called out to her.

Mukuro slowly stood from his seat but Tsuna didn't care for that, too transfixed as Mia's eyes focused on him. He was alarmed at the blood that trickled down her nose. Recognition shined in her eyes for a moment before she shuddered violently. Tsuna caught her as she fell forward, her eyes falling shut.

Somehow, the foreign presence he felt around her was gone. _How_?

"Didn't expect that did you Mukuro?" Reborn's taunt brought Tsuna back to where he was. He looked up to the stage where Mukuro stood, his expression twisted into fury and disbelief.

"_Impossible_," he said. He glared at the two of them and Tsuna instinctually held Mia closer. "Once they have entered a contact they cannot _break it_."

"But she did anyway." Tsuna turned to his tutor. Reborn nodded at him, confirming what he had already suspected and Tsuna let out sigh that was heavy with relief.

"You thought of using Mia against Tsuna but you didn't think that she could resist your control and even throw it off." Reborn stared at Mukuro, his black eyes flashing.

Mukuro's expression hardened and then he started to chuckle. He shook his head. "Kufufu… quite a feat on her part but don't think she'll walk away unscathed from this."

"She'll be alright." Tsuna's confident voice echoed throughout the vast room. "She has to be." He added in a whisper to himself. He did not look at either Mukuro or Reborn and just stared down at her face. He didn't let himself think about the bad things – he can't afford to right now.

Setting her gently on the ground he got up. A sudden idea struck him and he put his hands together over his flame. It was like he thought – his gloves could hold the same flame he had burning on his head.

He didn't question the flame. It felt so natural to him like it was a part of his own body. He felt _whole_. When he turned to face Mukuro there was nothing between them for Tsuna to hold back. In a span of a breath he was at the stage, the tip of his foot barely touching the floor when he socked Mukuro square in the jaw.

He was knocked back by the force of the punch, crashing into the couch just as Tsuna planted both feet on the floor firmly. He waited. He didn't wait for long when an illusion of a darker version of Mukuro came charging at him. He knew it was an illusion and did not make a move to dodge it.

He yelped when small rocks hit his face that was hidden in the illusion. He grasped his face in pain and Mukuro kicked him off stage and followed up by bringing down his staff on him. Tsuna managed to roll away just in time and back on to his feet. It was a sloppy move but he managed. They stood on even ground now.

Tsuna knew that his opponent was more experienced than he was yet he still fought. He was aware though at how depleted his energy was. His time in this state was limited. He blinked. Damn it. One of his eyes had been hit earlier and now his vision was blurred. Unable to stop the blinking, he was distracted long enough for Mukuro to charge at him.

"Tsuna!"

"I know!" he snapped, frustrated.

He broke into a run that was heading to collide with Mukuro. Instead of running into each other, he dropped and slid under Mukuro's attack. He twisted around to kick his opponent behind the legs. Mukuro stumbled and Tsuna jumped but was halted in midair as Mukuro kicked him by the torso. Grabbing on to his opponent's leg, he used his falling momentum to twist then throw him in the air before disappearing and appearing behind Mukuro's back.

"How!?" Mukuro exclaimed.

Tsuna didn't give him a chance as he put all his power into his fist and punched Mukuro down to the ground, the impact creating a wide crater where Mukuro had fallen. Tsuna apprehensively watched as Mukuro chuckled lowly to himself.

"So this... is the man who… defeats me." Mukuro struggled to lift his head to look at him. "Finish me off… Vongola Decimo… I'd rather die than-than be imprisoned by… the mafia."

Tsuna stared at him. How can he do that? He couldn't just _kill_ someone. Mukuro was beaten. That was all there was to it. He turned his back away from Mukuro and shook his head. "I can't do that."

He didn't see Mukuro's smirk so he didn't expect his arms to have suddenly been caught. Mukuro painfully head butted him when he decided to kick him, sending him flying towards the trident that had fallen into a crack in the wall earlier in the fight.

Mukuro was laughing at his victory but Tsuna had one last trick that his gloves had.

Gathering up his power, flames started to come out of his hands. Using them as thrusters, he propelled himself back to Mukuro. Grabbing his head with one hand while the other continued to keep them airborne, he slammed Mukuro all the way back to the stage. This time, the other boy did not get up. The flames on his head extinguished and he returned back to normal. The calmness that was there was gone now.

Reborn told him the Vongola medics had arrived. Lanchia had been given an antidote and was doing better now. Tsuna had never been happier for the good news. He turned back to look at Mukuro. Anxiety grew in him.

"He's not dead right?" he anxiously asked.

"Soft as ever," Reborn sighed. "He's alive."

"Don't you dare touch him!" Ken and Chikusa were now awake and were crawling towards them.

Tsuna didn't understand how they could be so loyal to Mukuro when he had hurt a lot of people. Reborn then went to reveal that they were former members of the now destroyed mafia family, the Estraneo. They had been experimented on when they were children and Tsuna could not believe that anyone would do that. He pitied them but at the same time, the fury that was simmering just at the very edge of his mind was still there. He could not forgive Mukuro so easily for what he put them through, especially Fuuta and Mia.

"But I can't stand aside and watch my friends get hurt." His expression hardened. "That is my place to be."

Ken and Chikusa were speechless. They couldn't say anything to him but turn their eyes away instead. Tsuna's expression softened slightly. Somewhere in him, he knew that they weren't truly evil people. Just… on the wrong path. That goes for Mukuro too despite Tsuna wanting to not think about it. The doors opened and Tsuna thought it was the paramedics.

He was wrong.

Cold, terrifying, and just oozes darkness; a group appeared in black fur clothes and bandaged faces. Tsuna felt a shiver run up his spine. Feeling threatened, Tsuna found himself entering a defensive stance without thinking about it. The threat wasn't for him though as chains flown into the air to clamp down on the necks of the Kokuyo students.

"What are they doing?" Tsuna was stopped by his tutor.

"Don't Tsuna. We can't interfere with the Vindice." It was hard to watch as the chained criminals were being rounded up like dogs.

"But what _are _they?"

"Vindicare," Reborn answered. "Keepers of the Mafia Law."

"The mafia actually _has _laws?" Tsuna said disbelievingly. "Wait, what about Lanchia-san?"

"They will be judged," Reborn ominously said. "I cannot say what will happen."

Tsuna stared at him. His tutor usually had all the answers if Mia didn't but to hear him say that he didn't know sparked worry in him. They were gone now. Feeling the tiredness creep into his bones, Tsuna decided to limp towards Mia's unconscious body. He pulled off his mittens and stuffed them into his pocket. Dropping down beside her, he placed his head on his knees and breathed.

Reborn joined him and leaned on his side.

"It's over." Tsuna nodded. It was over.

* * *

><p>Light peeked through the curtains as dawn came. Her eyelids fluttered when the light reached out to her face, its warmth stirring her awake. She tossed lightly and opened her eyes. Her mind was slow to register that she was not in her room but when it did, she frowned a bit.<p>

"Mia-nee?" She turned her head to the side. Sitting beside her bed, Fuuta had stood upon his chair, absolute joy on his young face. "You're awake!" he cried happily. Mia mustered a smile for him and slowly got up. She noticed that there was a needle stuck on her arm and made a face at it. She wasn't exactly afraid of needles she wasn't happy to see it either. Still, she scooted a little to make space beside her. She patted the empty space.

"Come here," she said softly. Fuuta happily sat beside her, cuddling to her side. "How are you?" she asked him.

"Good. Mama made me some snacks earlier. It was really tasty!" Fuuta suddenly realized something. "Oh but I ate them all."

She chuckled and patted his head. "It's fine. I'm not really hungry."

"You should be." Fuuta frowned at her.

"Eh?" She said.

"Mia-nee… you've been asleep for four days." He told her. Mia stiffened. The monitor next to her bed beeped wildly and Fuuta grasped on to her arm worriedly.

"Four… days?" she gasped. "Why was I asleep for that long? What happened? Does my Pa know?" She remembered exactly who she was talking to and forced herself to calm down. She shook her head. "You don't have to answer that Fuuta. I'll just ask the others."

"Should I call Hayato-nii? He's just outside." Fuuta looked up at her. Mia patted his head one last time before nodding. He gave her a wide toothy smile and jumped off the bed. He was out the door in seconds to be replaced by Gokudera who came in carrying a plastic bag. When he saw her awake, he grinned brightly.

"Mia-sama!" he greeted her. He handed the bag to her and Mia took it. She peeked into the bag to find an assortment of sweets.

"Gifts from the rest of us," Gokudera explained and Mia nodded, thoughtfully setting the bag on a bedside table. That was nice of them. "Mia-sama," Gokudera suddenly turned serious. Mia stiffened. Nothing bad happened right? Right? _Right?_

"You were so amazing!" Gokudera gushed like a squealing fangirl or fan_boy_. Mia stared at him, unable to think what was amazing about her. "Reborn-san said that you were the only one who threw off the mind control!"

Mia laughed weakly. "That's… nice." She suddenly remembered a flash of unbearable pain. She clutched her head and grimaced.

"Mia-sama?" Gokudera frantically tried to – she didn't know what the hell he was doing – do _something _probably to ease her pain. It disappeared as fast as it came though and Mia sighed in relief.

"Are you okay?" Gokudera worriedly asked her. "I should ask the doctor."

"No." She shook her head. "I just remembered something… bad."

He sighed in relief then he scowled. "Mukuro that bastard, I'm glad he's in prison now."

Odd. Gokudera would usually prefer to blow his enemies up to little itty bitty unrecognizable pieces. She was suddenly reminded of her current situation. "Ne Gokudera, can you tell me what happened?"

That seemed to sober him up as he resigned himself. He told her everything – including Reborn's summary of Tsuna's battle with Mukuro and her innate ability to resist possession. When he was done, Mia had gone very quiet which worried him quite a lot. She waved him off though.

"It's just… this is just so surreal ya know? I can barely remember the mind control part so I can't say if I was just lucky or I really can do it." She pressed her lips together tightly, thinking hard but thinking tired her as well so she stopped. Picking up a random sweet from the bag, she found that she had gotten that rotten seaweed-flavored candy that Yamamoto managed to convince her to eat once. She twisted her face in disgust.

Gokudera chuckled. Mia side-glanced at him and sighed, at least everybody was safe and sound now. If they had the balls to tease her then she wasn't going to complain. She looked around, aware that she was in a hospital room.

"Where am I?"

"Namimori General Hospital," Gokudera answered immediately. "This is a private room provided by the Vongola… Tenth insisted on it."

At the mention of Tsuna, Mia had to admit she was disappointed that he wasn't around. _It had been four days after all_, her mind said. _You can't expect him to be hanging around within the hour._ _He has a life too you know._ Yeah, she knows. Looking on the bright side, watching someone sleep was kind of… creepy. Tsuna probably didn't want to appear like a creeper but Mia had to admit she looked forward to seeing him the most. Still, it was nice of him to be pushy about it. Sort of out of character but still nice.

"Hey Gokudera… has Pa visited yet?" She asked softly. She wondered if her Father dropped all his work just to come see her. She remembered when he barged in the emergency room back in America, demanding if his daughter was okay with his reading glasses hanging askew on his face. Embarrassing to say the least but she was happy that he cared.

"Gokudera?" Her friend didn't answer her. Oh, she realized. Her Pa didn't come. She didn't know what kind of face she was making but Gokudera suddenly stood up and bowed deeply to her.

"Hey, what's this all about?" she murmured, a bit numb.

"Forgive me Mia-sama. Your Father hasn't come because he wasn't informed. Reborn thought it was best to limit civilian interaction concerning Mafia-related matters. So please, don't be sad." He looked up, looking like world's saddest puppy. He could seriously give Tsuna a run for his money with that look, she randomly thought. She caved in immediately and smiled.

"It's alright. I understand." Maybe, she didn't know. Tsuna's mother was out the loop, so was her dad but Kyoko and Haru? She wondered what the hell Reborn was thinking. But now that she thought about it, she didn't want her father to know at all. She was kind of sorry for being involved.

"Tenth has been very worried." She looked up. Gokudera was looking down on his shoes, the expression of helplessness on his face. "For the past few days he's been here after classes all the way until morning. I… I can't do anything to help him."

Warmth filled her heart. "That's not true. Clearly you're doing Tsuna a favor by being here."

"That's just because Tenth and Reborn-san had gone training today."

Mia gestured him to come closer. Gokudera obliged. Her IV needle was short but now that he was close enough, she leaned up to wrap her arms around his neck and hugged him. For her, nothing can express her feelings than actions. Gokudera promptly stiffened but relaxed when she pulled back.

"Even the smallest of things mean something Gokudera. You and Fuuta being here mean a lot to me."

Gokudera nodded slowly and smiled.

"So," she drawled out. "You said Tsuna was training right?"

* * *

><p>Maybe she should have accepted Gokudera's offer to be escorted up the mountain to Tsuna's training area. Her lungs were burning from the effort of trekking up since her body had barely moved in a while. She probably shouldn't have left the hospital either but she felt fine – almost. She wanted to see Tsuna personally and thank him. While it irked her that she had been taken so easily, it didn't change the fact that she was grateful for him saving her.<p>

And to… apologize as well. There was a time back then that she didn't believe she would be rescued. She actually thought that after Fuuta had been taken, she would have been killed and bore no hope of getting out there alive at. She was a realist in that sense and admittedly, rather grim. She had outmost faith in Tsuna, but she had none for herself. She owed him more than that. She hadn't even considered him coming to her rescue.

Her lonely trek left her alone with her thoughts. She remembered glimpses of orange and indescribable warmth. She couldn't put it into words. It just felt _right_. On another side, she also remembered more than one memory came back during the darker period of her childhood. Her mother's death was the reason she sought to better herself but it was her guilt that made her give up all concerns for her person. How could she? One parent had died for her and the other grieved for their loss. She had always thought that her memories after her mother's death were blurred or suppressed – it was common when you were in shock – and it left her a blank in her life. To think she actually had memories of that time well… she couldn't make heads or tails of it yet. She was still trying to figure out what came first.

Looking at the map that Gokudera drew out for her, it seems that the clearing where Tsuna were just through those trees. While simultaneously organizing her thoughts and consulting with the map, she almost ran into a giant acorn that appeared before her.

Wait. Giant acorn?

Reborn was wearing another weird costume while being suspended in midair by a cord. She stared at him.

"Ciaossu," he greeted her.

"Ciao," she said, perplexed at this bizarre creature known as Reborn. It was so hard to take him seriously like that.

"You don't look impressed," Reborn squeaked.

Her face was the poster picture of unimpressed. "I'm not actually."

"Sassy as ever. It's a shame Mukuro didn't scramble your brain."

"He fried me though," she said.

"If you're looking for Dame-Tsuna, he's just there taking a break right now." There was a snap and Reborn dropped down. He started walking away from the clearing.

"Where are you going?" Mia called out to him.

"I'm going back now, Dame-Tsuna wanted to stay longer so I'm letting him."

Mia turned towards the trees that separated her and Tsuna. Feeling nervous for no reason, she swallowed. She slapped her cheeks lightly and steeled herself. When she broke through, she was blinded by the afternoon sun for a moment. She blocked the rays with her hand and squinted until her vision adjusted. The ground was littered with craters and scorch marks and sitting several feet away was Tsuna.

He had his back towards her and was sitting in a crater, his arms on top of his knees while his head was ducked. She walked towards him, the crunching of the ground beneath her feet alerting him of her presence. He raised his head.

"Reborn?" he called out.

"Nope, just me," Mia timidly said.

Tsuna scrambled up to his feet at the sound of her voice. One moment he was looking at her like he couldn't believe she as there, the next he was hugging her so fiercely he lifted her off her feet. "Thank god you're alright!" he said.

"I still need air you know?" she gasped, laughing.

He set her down gingerly and Mia noticed that Leon was on his shoulder. Seeing her look, he explained, "I wanted to train a little longer so I borrowed Leon for a bit."

She nodded then frowned. Tsuna never trains on his own free will. Of course the Dying Will Bullet was the most controversial thing ever invented and Tsuna ends up doing something he didn't want to regret but for him to willingly train… for what? There were dark circles underneath his eyes. Gokudera said that Tsuna hadn't slept lately at all yet he still went to train?

He probably knew what she was thinking and smiled faintly. "Don't worry. I want this."

She gave him a long look. "Do you?" she asked him.

His eyes hardened and Mia was a bit taken aback by the fierce resolve shining through his eyes.

"I do."

It sounded like – no – it _was _a vow. As his intense gaze bore down on her, Mia actually had a hard time to not look away. There was something in his eyes that she couldn't tell but knows that it was her fault why he was like this. Without thinking, she reached out a hand to cup one side of his face, startling him.

"_Sono davvero molto dispiaciuto._" She honestly told him (_"I'm so, so sorry."_).

He stared at her for a moment then shook his head gently. "_Non avete nulla di essere dispiaciuto per_," he murmured, placing his hand on top of hers, he closed his eyes and sighed contentedly in it. He stroked her hand rather lazily and she felt a shiver at his touch (_"You have nothing to be sorry for.")_. She wanted to snatch her hand away but Tsuna seemed to enjoy it.

"You need sleep," she told him bluntly. He grunted.

"Later. This now, sleep later."

Oh great, her best friend reverted himself into a caveman. She fondly rolled her eyes yet her cheeks were warm. Something occurred to her that she hadn't asked yet. Why was he training exactly? And what was with the scorches all over the place?

"Will you tell me what you were training for?" she asked hopefully.

* * *

><p>Tsuna opened his eyes to study her for a minute. A desire grew in him to show her his newfound power. He wanted to see her reaction so with a bit of hesitation, he let go of her hand. Leon crawled into his hand and transformed into a handgun. He watched as her expression turn into heavy confusion as he pointed the gun at his temple. He smiled wryly and pulled the trigger. His eyes fell shut.<p>

Feeling the familiar calmness don him like a cloak and the flame igniting on his forehead, Tsuna opened his eyes slowly. Mia was staring at him with open-mouthed wonder, her eye brimming with childish curiosity that often came to her when she saw something amazing.

"Wow," she breathed and Tsuna smirked. He expected her to slap his arm and call him an idiot for having a big head but she stepped closer to him instead to get a closer look. He could suddenly count the small freckles that dotted her face and smell that scent that was only Mia's. Books and apples. He started to explain the Rebuke Bullet and his hyper mode slowly, her scent being the only thing clouding his mind. He didn't tell her any of the rebukes he heard though.

Mia listened quietly, her blue eyes never breaking contact with his.

For the past few days, Tsuna had the inexplicable urge to just stay by her side. He'd never left her hospital bed until the weekend came and Reborn suggested he should try and master his new power. Tsuna admittedly liked this mode better than the dying will mode – he kept his clothes after all. He could see that all her wounds had healed nicely and her skin was smooth once again. His hands reached out for her face before he could stop himself. He cradled her face with his hands, his fingers brushing against her skin and hair.

"Tsuna?" she murmured, her cheeks turning pink. "What's wrong?"

"Nothing." He watched as her blush turned darker at how deeper his voice was than usual. His ego petted, he had to admit that her reactions were… deliciously fun. The feel of her skin that was warm and so full of life had him take another step closer. They were only inches apart now but neither was embarrassed since they have long grown used to the other's presence.

"Tell me I'm pretty," he joked and Mia smiled mischievously.

"I think your eyes are very pretty. Want a matching tiara to go with your ego?"

"Don't you mean a crown?"

"I know what I said. A diva needs a tiara."

He laughed softly, honestly missing this. Then Mia did something he did not expect, prying his hands away gently, she slowly leaned to him and pressed her soft lips against his left cheek. He was so shocked that he fell right out of his Hyper mode.

"Thank you Tsuna… for everything." She looked so shy then, looking away and tucking a strand of hair behind her ear. Tsuna decided that whatever she said, he would think that she looks adorable. He ended up blurting something random that in hindsight was probably the best thing her had ever done.

"You should thank me more that way."

She glanced at him. Maybe the exhaustion had finally caught up on him and he was just being delusional, but the sun's setting rays highlighted her face with its orange hues. From her long blonde hair that curtained her face, to her luminescent skin and her flowery blue eyes, he had never realized how pretty Mia can actually be but at that very moment, she was and it took his breath away.

"I think I will," she simply said.

Tsuna couldn't explain his emotions any better than Mia could but he thought it was a good feeling. What it was, he had no name for it yet but for now, he was content with just watching and staying by her side. The moment disappeared when the sun had finally set and they were in the dark. An idea popped into his mind.

"Want a lift down?" he asked her, his grin growing.

Her eyebrow rose up. "Lift?"

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><p><strong>Translation: <strong>

**_Sono davvero molto dispiaciuto_ - I'm so, so sorry**

**_Non avete nulla di essere dispiaciuto per_ - you have nothing to be sorry for**

**To my readers:**

** - lol, well here's your kissing scene. I'm sorry if I didn't have them smashing lips together but I have dark devious plans for that. Actually, brace yourselves everyone for hormones are coming! **

**To everybody else, I hope you enjoyed this chapter and I'll see you all again alright? I gotta deal with Midterms now so cheer me on!**

**REVIEW**

**FIGHT SENPAI FIGHT**

**REVIEW**


	14. The Letter From the Ninth

**Hello guys! I have survived my midterms! Let's just pray I passed them or else my soul will go on to the afterlife.**

**Anyway, lots of things going on as some of you can see. I edited some of the chapters to fix the grammar and the translations in response to an anon reviewer who is named as 'VBS'. Well since I can't PM you, I'll just tell you here.**

**To VBS,**

**I apologize that the Italian speak is annoying but I'm still going to keep it. I don't want to use Italics for loads of reasons because I use it all the time to emphasize thoughts, actions, phone calls, letters and foreign words. Besides, if I took the Italian speak away I would be taking a part of Mia away since she loves swearing in Italian. It's a given and I edited the translations within the same sentence of the Italian speak so you don't need to scroll down for the translation. **

**And if that still displeases you... well I'm sure there are a lot of other OC fanfics out there other than SU.**

**To OMG**

**You asked if there will be Lemon.**

**My answer?**

**...**

**...**

**...**

**...**

**...**

**...**

**...**

**...**

**...**

**...**

**Yeah there will be lemon. **

**This story will progress as they age so its given the maturity comes along with it. There won't be any lemon... yet. Lol, just enjoy the fluff while you can.**

**On another note, I changed the cover for the story. I took the picture from google and it was pretty much a blank so I colored it up. I think originally it was Kyoko and Tsuna but with it blank, it fit my image of Mia and Tsuna instead. In my opinion they look better this way lol. xD But really, it just struck me how lovely it is so I took it. **

**It's also the cover for my Wattpad Sunset Hue as well. **

**I'm probably going to regret posting there but what the hell, my friend is a very pushy pain in the ass. So I posted to Wattpad and I tell you guys, its so damn AWFUL. I don't even like reading there for reasons that I can't forgive people who writes stories with EMOTICONS. I'm insulted. I really am. **

**Btw, at the end there's an extension of the summary written below. It's too bad I couldn't fit it in the story summary. **

**Disclaimer: I don't own KHR. Never will. *Sobs***

* * *

><p>"Lift?" Mia repeated.<p>

He nodded, pulling out his mittens from his pocket and slipping them on. She watched him shoot himself with the rebuke bullet again to enter hyper mode.

"Did your mittens just…?"

He wriggled his fingers in front of her, smirking. "Yup."

She opened her mouth to probably comment on it but thought better. She chose to examine his gloves instead, fascinated at its transformation properties. He let her touch them for a while until he announced that they should get going. She nodded.

"So what do you mean by lift?" she asked again.

"Hold on to me," he told her.

"Excuse me?"

"Just wrap your arms around my neck. I want to try something."

Dubiously, she did. Tsuna was pleased that she trusted him so much. Without warning, flames shot out from his gloves. Mia yelped and clung tighter to him when they were several feet off the ground. Her arms shook from the strain and it occurred to him that Mia may have left the hospital unauthorized. He wrapped an arm around her waist to keep her secured but it ended up throwing his momentum off and they careened sideways.

"Kya!" Mia screeched when they brushed a tree. Tsuna gritted his teeth as he maneuvered them above the trees with one hand.

A part of his brain registered that Mia 'kya-ed' and it was cute and another part started to notice how dangerous this was becoming. He didn't mean the 'dropping out of the sky part' but the 'oh shit this is getting way too uncomfortable part'. He was _very _aware how Mia pressed her body against his as she clung for safety. Maybe he should have put some more thought into this instead of head-diving.

Mia wrapped her legs around his waist and his flames flickered, causing them to falter in mid-air. If it was possible, Mia pressed herself even more against him. He honestly cannot ignore the very womanly parts his best friend had. Holy shit. The flame on his forehead spluttered and he tried very hard not to let his other emotions overwhelm him. Reborn had told him that some emotions could either fuel his flames or extinguished them so he had to be careful.

Easier said than done.

Did he ever mention how soft Mia was?

Goddamnit!

He bit his lip and turned his head. They were close to the base of the mountain. _Just a little bit more_…

His control snapped when Mia hid her face in the crook of his neck, her lips dangerously close to his skin. A mind-blowing number of fifty inappropriate pop-ups appeared in his head. They ended up doing a barrel roll before Tsuna finally had enough and landed. Mia let go immediately and sunk to her knees, relieved she was on land once again.

Tsuna however, was on his hands and knees trying to recollect himself. _That was the worst idea he has ever had…_

"Never do that again yeah?" Mia said.

Tsuna nodded, wholeheartedly agreeing with her. "Yeah."

They walked down the mountain together in silence instead. Tsuna's head hung low as they crossed the last few yards. His mind was currently spinning from earlier, hardly believing that his mind just jumped off the deep end, his neck still tingling from earlier before.

He should probably stop thinking.

"Mia-sama!" Gokudera met them when they came out. "You said it would only take three hours! We have to go back to the hospital!" he stopped when he saw Tsuna.

"Tenth! It's great to see you!" he greeted him nervously.

Tsuna looked at Mia. She was sheepishly looking away from him. "Mia…" he slowly said. So he was right that she left. She laughed anxiously.

"Please don't be mad?" she said reproachfully.

"Mia!"

* * *

><p>"Can you please be a bit more conscious of your health? What made you think you can just waltz out of the hospital after waking up?" He scolded her the entire way back.<p>

"I felt alright," she protested. "So I left earlier than I should have. There was no reason to keep me there!"

"Oh yes there was!" Tsuna shot back. "God, do you have any idea how worried I was? Any longer than that I would have thought you were in a coma! "

Mia didn't reply, opting to look down instead. She muttered a silent "Sorry."

Tsuna sighed and rubbed his tired eyes. He looked at her again. Mia didn't meet his stern gaze and was looking down on the ground looking very much ashamed. Seeing her like that had his annoyance fade away into the cool night.

Gokudera awkwardly hung back, unable to say anything. He wanted to apologize and take the blame for Mia-sama but once the Tenth started there was no stopping him. So he just followed them like a lost and awkward little dog. It seemed they forgot about him but Gokudera didn't take it personally. He knew how much the Tenth cared for Mia – everybody could plainly see that and Mia-sama definitely had her moments of recklessness. Gokudera was torn whether he should stick with Mia-sama when she wanders away by herself or by the Tenth's side. That vow he made was really starting to have its drawbacks. An uncomfortable silence befell them and Gokudera wanted to say _anything _just to break it up.

Thank god for cell phones. All at once, their phones rang at once.

The two oblivious couple jumped when they heard Gokudera's personalized ring tone. Before either of them said anything, Gokudera answered the call, grateful that he had anything to do. It was short and very brief.

"Come to Tsuna's house."

Then it ended.

"What the hell is Reborn thinking?!" Tsuna exclaimed.

* * *

><p>"Surprise!" Everybody jumped out when they went inside Tsuna's living room. A banner that said 'Welcome back Mia!' hung on the wall, there were drinks, food, and naturally anything you could find for your party needs. Tsuna and Gokudera wore smiles on their faces and turned around to see Mia's reaction.<p>

She stood staring blankly at the banner then at everybody else in the room.

For the first time ever, Tsuna saw her make an unrecognizable face. Something like a cross of shock, confusion and withdrawal. His smile slowly fell off at the closed and guarded expression that showed then she smiled unnaturally. It looked the same as her usual smiles but it lacked the heart she puts into it. She walked past them to thank the others, her fake smile becoming wider.

When she went past him, Tsuna could feel a large stone weigh heavily on his chest.

Why did it make him feel so sad?

He watched her laugh with Kyoko and Haru, and play with the children. His mother came in next carrying a tray of drinks – apparently she had been fed with another cover story. Bianchi discreetly informed him that they told the girls and his mom that Mia went on an impromptu camping trip with her dad for the past few days. Mia seemed to have figured it out for herself and went on to tell them what transpired.

As the party went on, Mia's smile became more genuine and when it ended and everybody went home, he asked her to stay over for the night. His mom wouldn't mind her staying over but what he wanted to do the most was to talk with her. But she declined and went back with Gokudera instead. To say he was disappointed was an understatement. Something heavy fell on his head. It could be the universe trying to comfort him or Reborn was just one really fat bastard.

"Dame-Tsuna…"

"I'M SORRY!"

* * *

><p>When Mia went back into her apartment, feeling more than just tired. She was never much of a party person when it came to herself; she was never comfortable with that kind of attention. Opening the door, she noticed several boxes were piled in her living room and all of them had the Vongola insignia stamped on the upper right corners. There was a letter on top of one box. She silently made her way over to it and opened it. A dying will flame sparked to life, acting as a seal. Written in a flawless cursive Italian, it read:<p>

_To the Young Lady,_

_Reborn has told me much of you in his letters and how much of a good friend you are to Tsunayoshi-kun. It warms my old heart how you stand beside him, not cowed by the dangers brought on by his ancestral birthright. Personally, I would have liked not to involve Tsunayoshi-kun. _

_However that cannot be. _

_The Vongola needs an heir. I cannot express it enough in words how it is important for Tsunayoshi-kun to inherit the role of Boss. No one but him can only take this throne. He is the only hope to shine the light upon Vongola's dark path; I sincerely believe that you would greatly help him in doing so._

_Reborn informed me that you wish to learn the Vongola's history. A heavy bargain you asked for. I had my doubts but he assured me of you could be trusted and so I am placing my faith upon you. Contained in these boxes hold the history of the Vongola from its founding to the present day – our customs, traditions and old contracts will be yours to study. Guard this knowledge well child and may you use it wisely. _

_A bright young mind like yours I only warn you that you take care of your life._

_With best regards,_

_Vongola Nono_

Mia set down the letter, feeling faint in the head. Her knees weakened and she placed a hand on the coffee table to steady herself. The weight of her impulsive actions had finally settled deeply into her mind. It didn't occur to her then how big the danger was when she had asked Reborn and she had to admit she was frightened. She bit her lip.

Despite being afraid, her curiosity was stronger. Steeling her nerves, she opened one of the boxes and took out what appeared to be a dark leather-bound ledger. The words from Nono's letter floated into her mind and she frowned. What did it mean to 'shine the light upon Vongola's dark path'? Did he expect Tsuna to change the Vongola? As a mafia family, that was an odd request. What secrets did history conceal?

Looking at the thick ledger then the rest of the unopened boxes, she had a long, _long _way to go. She sighed and felt a sliver of pain go through her head. She rubbed her temples tiredly.

"Maybe I should go to bed first." Thank god Reborn signed her release papers otherwise she would have been herded by Tsuna back in the hospital now.

Speaking of Tsuna… as she lied on her bed, her cheeks warmed as she remembered his gentle caresses and that fond smile he had on his face. She placed her hands where his was and sighed. Closing her eyes, she recalled how calloused his hands had become but still retained that gentleness that he had. Her hands slipped down her face. Her eyelids shut and she felt herself drifting away into the land of sleep.

But she did not sleep soundly for late in the night she woke up from a terrible nightmare, gasping and in tears. Mukuro wasn't lying when he said she wouldn't come out of it unscathed. She just hoped it wouldn't last forever.

* * *

><p><strong>BONUS CONTENT: EXTENDED SUMMARY<strong>

**Tsuna figured that the universe was out to get him because his life couldn't get suckier than what he was going through in his short pubescent life. So he went for a walk, hoping to clear his head, literally. As fate would have had it - under strange circumstances - he met a girl who could possibly be the best thing that has happened to him. **

**Mia hadn't thought about anything of the boy that she met one night knocked out on the street other than he was funny. He was timid and not at all the strongest but he was certainly something. Fate led her to him for a reason and that was to stay by his side. Turns out he was everything she could have asked for.**

**I'll be editing this in the first chapter later, right now I'm too busy some other stuff.**

**REMEMBER TO REVIEW**

**BECAUSE MIA'S GRANDPA IS GONNA SHOW UP**

**GO GRANDPAS!**


	15. On the Matter of Time Capsules and DWB

**Sorry to disappoint you guys if this wasn't a serious chapter and isn't as long as I would have liked it but it felt wrong to add more to it. To be honest, it feels like I'm just rambling on a chapter that's being going on in my head. So it serves no purpose other than to fulfill my desire to make fun of the characters and poking our poor Tuna fish's endurance. **

**Anyway, gonna reply to some reviews:**

**JustAGuest - Jealous Tsuna you say? Well that has been on my mind - who am I kidding, if you're writing a romantic story there's bound to be jealousy there. I just want to avoid the love triangle but if I had to do it, it won't be the way people will expect it to be. Yeah, it totally will be like that *nods***

**Hippo - I was already planning on a chapter like that where Mia gets shot with a DWB. I mean, here it is lol but as for the rest of your questions, Mia will not be totally defenseless and when I say that, I meant that she will be able to develop some skills but mind that she will never be on the same level as Tsuna and the others. Not the way how crazy they are when fighting. I won't tell anymore because it would be a spoiler!**

**Disclaimer: I don't own KHR but I happen to have this very lovely hat.**

**Edit: Whoops, sorry for not adding Mia's flame color before. I've forgotten it. Thanks to the reviewers who were kind enough to ask politely!**

* * *

><p>Tsuna was worried.<p>

Mia had been very distracted for the past few days now, opting to fall back behind when they walk to school and becoming very quiet. She would often stare into space for a long while until someone would bring her back. He often did it enough and when he does, he would notice the heavy bags underneath her eyes as if she hadn't slept a wink.

He would try to talk to her about it but Mia would then deflect his concern and just dodge it all together. It was starting to become annoying how she avoided him. Didn't she trust him? Did he do something to offend her?

Despite how hurt he felt, he was still worried. Her state was progressing worse to the point she fell asleep at class. The worst was that it was during Nezu's class. He slammed a thick textbook down on her desk which startled her awake, almost toppling off her chair.

"Matteis-san, am I interrupting something?" he sneered down at her.

Mia rubbed her eyes and replied in a very tired voice, "Nothing at all Sensei."

"Do you think my class is 'nothing' Matteis-san?" Mia paused. Tsuna could tell she was trying hard not to make a smartass reply.

"I think… your classes are very educating Sensei," she slowly replied. The class was dead silent as everyone's attention was focused on the two of them.

"Is that so? Then why miss it?" Nezu smirked at her, tapping the textbook with a finger. She didn't reply and hung her head. He shook his head at her and went back to front. He faced the class and fixed his glasses. "Class, it seems that _some_ here thinks that education is a waste of time." Nezu glanced at Mia's way. "Just because one does well at school doesn't mean they can slack off."

Mia muttered something under her breath. "What was that Matteis-san? I didn't catch it." Nezu folded his arms and looked expectantly at her. She raised her head and Tsuna felt admiration at the fire that burned in her eyes. Her intellect was insulted and he knew she didn't take kindly to that. Mia slowly stood from her seat, back straight, chin up and eyes focused only on Nezu.

"I said, _Sensei_," the word was stretched rather mockingly. "That just because _some_ graduated from a prestigious school does not make anyone more of a scholar then they can dream to be."

"I'm sure the likes of a public school attendee would never understand the worth of coming out as a prestigious member of society," Nezu told her scathingly.

Mia bristled. "I'm sure a 'prestigious member of society' would know the difference on teaching a mandatory middle school subject and bragging."

Nezu's face went purple. "How dare you…"

"Oh I dare," Mia growled. "Try me, _È miserabile truffa!_"

Everybody gasped. It was a given, from her tone and obvious insolence towards Nezu. Nobody would admit it but she was right. The teacher's face turned into an unpleasant shade of red. He pointed a finger at her that had people flinching and said in a barely concealed tone of anger, "To the… _Principal's Office_."

Chin high; Mia did not look back as she went through the door. Nezu followed her out and when the door shut, whispers broke out. Gokudera and Yamamoto were at his side immediately.

"You think she's gonna be alright?" Yamamoto asked worriedly.

"Mia-sama definitely nailed that one!" Gokudera beamed.

"What did she say anyway?"

"She called him a miserable fraud," Tsuna answered. He stood up, his brows knitted together in worry. "Come on, let's go look for Reborn."

They didn't have to look very long. He was with Mia outside of school, telling her off how troublesome she was becoming. She leaned on the shovel that she had in hand and nodded dumbly, accepting the rebuke. Tsuna could see how exhausted she really was and rushed towards them. Reborn stopped talking when they arrived. Mia straightened herself and smiled tiredly at them.

"Hey," she greeted them softly.

"What happened in the office?" Tsuna asked. She sighed.

"I'm supposed to look for this time capsule or else I'll be expelled." She tapped the ground with her shovel. "Oh, and I have to find it by the end of today."

Tsuna ran a hand through his hair and sighed. He wanted to scold her but looking at her now, he couldn't. Time was being wasted and they needed to get going. Gokudera and Yamamoto seemed to get the same idea as well as they took off their vests, jackets and ties.

"What are you guys doing?" Mia asked.

"Helping ya!" Yamamoto cheerily told her.

"If you guys get caught you'll be put on expulsion with me," she hissed at them.

Gokudera snorted. "As if we would let you be expelled Mia-sama. As the Tenth's right-hand man, I won't let that happen!"

Mia pinched the bridge of her nose and turned towards Tsuna. He gave her his puppy look and she threw her hands up in exasperation.

"Fine!"

* * *

><p>Under the hot sweltering sun they shoveled their way. Mia wiped the sweat off of her forehead. She looked at the guys and felt with a pang that this was all her fault. If only she slept better instead of stubbornly refusing to take those pills, they wouldn't be in this situation right now. Mia didn't like taking medication unless she became too dependent on them but it had to be done – she needed sleep. But first, they have to find that stupid time capsule. She looked at the field. They barely covered twenty-five percent of the whole campus, how the hell were they supposed to find that stupid thing?!<p>

She groaned.

"You feeling okay Mia?" Yamamoto appeared beside her. "Don't push yourself, go rest for a minute. I'll take care of this side." He grinned at her.

Mia sourly looked at him. Here's another thing, the boys were treating her like she was some fragile doll. It was slowly grinding on her nerves. Sure she wasn't strong as they were or equally just as powerful but she wasn't weak either! She wanted to snap at Yamamoto but held herself back because it wasn't right. She shouldn't take her frustration on her friends so she complied, sulking underneath the shade of a tree. Reborn dropped out from the branches above her to survey their work.

"At this point you'll never find that capsule," he said.

Mia rubbed her face tiredly. "I know." After a while she confessed honestly, "Reborn, isn't there some way to do this much faster? I… I feel so bad letting them do the work that I should be doing."

"You regret it?' he asked her.

She nodded. "Yeah."

"Hmnn… there's only one way though." He watched she slowly realized what he meant. When she did, she blushed.

"Still wanna go down that route?" he asked her again.

"I…" Mia seriously considered it. Then after a painful moment, she said, "I can have a moment right?" she pleaded with the hitman.

"Take your time," he told her.

Great, even the world's greatest hitman was feeling sorry for her. Or maybe he just wanted to humiliate her but whatever. She got up and immediately wanted to back out of it. She fidgeted on the spot, contemplating whether or not this was the best course of action. Tsuna seemed to have noticed her indecisiveness. He stopped shoveling and waved at her. Mia could see his soaked shirt as it clung to his lanky frame and how his unruly spiky hair was drooping because of the sweat. Hesitantly, she waved back.

The image of herself in her underwear suddenly popped into her head and she blushed darkly.

_Why did she have to wear __that__ today?_

Actually, why did she accept Bianchi's 'gift' in the first place?! Oh that's right, the Poison Scorpion threw away her old undergarments and replaced them with more… _mature _ones. Unconsciously, she wrapped an arm around her breasts and lowered her skirt. Her mind was made up before she could answer Reborn.

"Reborn, I think I'll just – "

"Too slow, I've made up my mind." With a loud bang, she felt the bullet sink into her head and she toppled backwards.

* * *

><p>Tsuna was frozen on the spot as his tutor s<em>hot his best friend<em>. "HIEEEEEEEEE!"

Mia was sprawled on the ground, unmoving. He was going to run towards her when she stood up so fast it was inhuman. Her eyes were closed and to his horror, an orange flame blazed to life on her forehead. He barely had time to react when her clothes came off and he was staring at a mixture of fair white skin and _blue lace_.

He was faintly aware of letting go of the shovel and the clang it made when it hit the ground or his jaw hanging open and blood squirting out of his nose like a hose. Like hey, he knew his best friend was a girl – lately the truth had been glaring obviously at him – but now it seems as if the world was pointing it out especially for him. He could _not _stop staring at those lacy blue boy shorts… or the bra. Or just at Mia in general. Perverse thoughts flooded his mind and before he could think any more of it, he heard the sounds of approaching footsteps.

He swirled around to see both Gokudera and Yamamoto gaping at Mia. An intense powerful feeling that he didn't want his friends to ogle her ran through his veins and before he knew it, he had sprinted towards them and closed the gap by slapping his hands over both his friend's eyes.

"What are you two _doing?_" he hissed.

"Tenth!"

"Tsuna!" They both squeaked.

"Virgins I see," Reborn sighed. Tsuna looked behind him to glare at his tutor.

"What the hell Reborn?! Why did you shoot her with a dying will bullet?" If his hands weren't so busy he would have strangled his tutor and die trying for shooting Mia and for that virgin comment. His ears burned just from hearing it.

"Mia-sama was shot with the dying will bullet?" Gokudera gasped. "I don't see – well hear her screaming."

"That's because whatever flare Mia has, her true ferocity lies in her calmness." Tsuna frowned.

"Yeah but when she's mad she's…" he trailed off, knowing that they understood what he meant. It happened earlier today after all.

"When it comes down to it, she's a thinker before being a fighter. Being shot with the dying will bullet will not change that." Reborn paused and Tsuna had to focus all his attention at his tutor and not at Mia's… legs passing by.

"Eyes here dame-Tsuna," Reborn amusingly told him. "And wipe that blood off your face, you look like a pervert."

He flushed and hastily wiped his nosebleed on his sleeve. "Take your hands off their eyes already Dame-Tsuna." Tsuna furiously shook his head.

"No way!"

"Possessive aren't you?"

"I'm not! I'm just… Mia she's… Gah! Will you just shut up!"

"How cute, you're protecting her honor."

"Of course Reborn-san! Tenth's intentions have always been noble when it comes to Mia-sama!"

"Hahaha! Tsuna's just looking out for her after all."

Tsuna's face burned with shame. While it may appear that way, he actually had less-than-noble thoughts running around his head at the moment. Several electronic beeps sounded and Tsuna craned his neck where it could have possibly come from. Mia stood on the middle of the field, hand on a green metal detector. She looked over her shoulder to meet his gaze.

The flame still burned and her blue eyes shone with triumph as she looked at him.

"Found it."

He stared at her for different reasons now.

* * *

><p><strong>This week has totally been the shit for me. Sorry if this is the best that I could churn out but I promise next time will be good! <strong>

**For those who have concerns about Mia's grandpa... **

**NO HE IS NOT RELATED TO THE MAFIA AT ALL. **

**Mia's family doesn't have any connections at all to the mafia. You don't need to be a mafioso to be badass ya know? I'd like to have a bit of diverstiy every now and then. Plus, grandpas are awesome. **

**I'll see you peeps next time so please wait patiently!**

**AND REMEMBER TO REVIEW**

**OR FAV**

**:)**


	16. First Fight

**Well I think I've certainly made up for this chapter. 7,000 words! Very proud of myself although my longest chapter I have ever written was around 21,000 in TU. **

**To my dear readers,**

**I apologize for not writing Mia's specific flame attribute in the previous chapter, I'm ashamed to admit I forgot in the light of all the researching I had to do. I've fixed that but for those all who wonder, Mia is a sky flame attribute. Not the most unique flame I could give her but let's be realistic, she definitely has the qualities of a sky holder.**

**Dunno if I'm gonna make you guys go 'FEELS!' but I tried my best. **

**Disclaimer: I don't own KHR, only the complete trilogy of the Eragon books.**

* * *

><p>When the flame died out, Mia threw Leon at Tsuna's face. The chameleon turned into blindfold that slapped on to Tsuna's eyes, causing him to fall, surprised at how strong her throw was. Before the other two could move, in a very dangerous and close to detonation tone, she said, "Turn around and I will <em>end you<em>." They didn't dare to turn around. If one would look at it this way, if they did look at her, Mia would probably castrate them and Tsuna… well god knows what he would do. Dutifully, they obeyed her request.

She shoved her embarrassment deep inside an impenetrable bottle of resolve. She had it coming after all, since she was the one who asked for it in the first place. Nope, she cannot complain.

_Hold your head up high and hope for the best that this doesn't make things awkward, _she thought to herself. Tsuna did this all the time – she's seen him in his underwear more than a girl should have. So what if they saw her half-naked and she had boobs? She's still the wise-crack girl that they've always known. That thought provided her with little comfort but it was enough to keep her going.

Mia went to grab Tsuna's vest. She put it on since it fitted her better and tied Gokudera's jacket around her waist, ending with a knot to the side that gave her improvised skirt a slit. Thankfully it covered what she wanted to cover at least but there was still too much skin for her to be comfortable with. She returned to where the boys were – Gokudera and Yamamoto had not moved an inch from where she ordered them to stay and Tsuna was currently sitting Indian-style on the ground with his arms crossed on his chest.

"Okay," she said heavily. "I'm decent."

Leon fell off of Tsuna's face and landed on his lap. He crawled right back up to hide in Tsuna's hair. Mia actually found it adorable how Tsuna didn't mind but she didn't let it show. Tsuna awkwardly looked up at her. His eyes recognized the clothing she wore and his expression changed. Her heart did a rollercoaster when she noticed how he looked at her. She had no words to describe it except that it made a tingling sensation run up and down her forearms.

Then it was gone as soon as Gokudera and Yamamoto turned to face her.

"I hope you don't mind if I borrowed your jacket Gokudera."

"Not at all!" The bomber exclaimed.

"Looking good Mia," Yamamoto complimented her. She was sure he didn't mean it that way and he knew it too, although it didn't stop Gokudera from telling him off. Before it could escalate into something bigger, Tsuna rapidly stood up and briskly walked past his two friends while holding his shovel. The mood suddenly became tense and both boys halted. Yamamoto rubbed his head sheepishly.

Mia was sure that something just happened. Tsuna smiled disarmingly at her without looking at her in the eye and dug the shovel to the ground where she said the capsule to be. The other two came to help as well and Mia was left on the side, feeling that she something significant happened… or it could be just her imagination. Eventually, they hit something hard and picked up the pace to dig out the capsule. When they were done, Mia peeked into the capsule, a cruel and smug smile making its way to her lips and erasing all remaining traces of mortification from the dying will bullet. It made her loads better.

Off to the side, the three boys sweat dropped.

"Mia… you're evilness is showing," Tsuna said. Mia ignored him.

"Well… at least she won't be expelled right?" Yamamoto cheerfully said.

"As long as Mia-sama is happy…" Gokudera trailed off as Mia let out a mad cackle. "Happy." He repeated, sounding a bit more unsure of himself.

Mia swirled around; her eyes were alive with mischief. "Boys, I'm s_o _going to bust Nezu!"

"Uh… let's get you some clothes first," Tsuna suggested. She nodded and went back to looking through the papers.

They went to class after Mia changed into a spare uniform. It was on her own insistence that they went back. When they tried to talk back at that time, she threatened to rip the papers to shreds saying, "No. You've spent half the school day helping me. It's lucky you three haven't been discovered yet and I'll have it stay that way. I'm thankful guys, I really am so please just do this for me?" Then she looked at them with those blue pleading eyes. Gokudera went down easily, followed by Yamamoto. Tsuna did not look at her, knowing that if he did, it would be over.

"Tsuna…" she pleaded in that adorable way that just made him want to bang his head against the wall because _damn it_… with a groan, he looked at her. Just as he thought, saying no was impossible.

When they went back to class, Tsuna was startled as all their classmates crowded around them asking of Mia's unfortunate fate and why they were gone for so long. Gokudera blew up on them obviously, threatening people while Yamamoto tried to calm him down. Tsuna slipped away, ignoring his classmates and making a beeline to his seat where he sat there, arms crossed. He intended to sit and wait there until Mia came back.

Kyoko approached him with a concerned frown.

"Tsuna-kun, what happened to your vest?" she asked. He looked down on himself for a moment. He forgot that he lent Mia his since there wasn't anything else in her size. He didn't mind if she kept it.

"Um, it got dirty so I had to take it off. Why?" he looked up at Kyoko. The lighter-headed brunette shyly shook her head. He smiled at her and noticed a new sunflower hairclip hanging near her ear. He remembered helping Onii-san pick something similar the other day. His smile grew a bit.

"Your sunflower's cute Kyoko-chan," he told her. "It looks good on you."

She touched the sunflower, her cheeks dusted with pink. "R-Really? Onii-san gave it to me."

"Having older brothers are cool ne?"

Kyoko blinked in surprise. "I didn't know you had an older brother Tsuna-kun!" she exclaimed.

He nervously laughed. "I don't. I just have an older brother figure that thinks that we're family." Now that he thought about it, he still hadn't thanked Dino for the heads up of info during that time with Mukuro. If it wasn't for him, Tsuna wouldn't have known what they were up against. He took out his phone to see if he had Dino's number. Nope. He'll just ask Reborn later.

"I bet he's kind," Kyoko said thoughtfully.

Tsuna nodded, thinking how caring Dino was of his men. "Yeah, he is."

Actually, if someone like Dino was in the Mafia, could it be really as dark as he thought it was?

"Tsuna-kun." He focused his attention back at her.

"Sorry Kyoko-chan. I just have a lot on my mind." She nodded understandingly. It looked like she was going to say something but thought more on it. He tilted his head to the side.

"What's wrong?" he asked.

Kyoko blushed and looked down on her shoes. She took a deep breath and met his eyes with such determination that it surprised him. "Tsuna-kun," she started. His heart jumped and his face turned warmed.

"Yeah?" he breathed.

"Will you – " she was interrupted as the door ferociously slid open. Cue the scary piano solo and Hibari enters the room, his black eyes practically scaring the pants out of everyone as they scanned the area. He huffed when he saw that what he was looking for wasn't there. Tsuna slowly stood up from his seat.

"Herbivore," he addressed Tsuna. He flinched wondering why the hell was it always him? "Where is the little cub?"

Little cub? Who the hell was that? Seeing as Tsuna didn't get it, Hibari made an unimpressed sound that somewhat ticked him off. How was he supposed to know who he was referring to? The prefect left, leaving the class in stunned silence for it was odd for the devil of the school to refer to anyone other than 'herbivore'. People spoke to each other in hush tones after that.

"I wonder who 'little cub' is?" He wondered out loud.

Kyoko looked like she was about to give her own thought about it when the door opened again and Mia staggered inside, looking as if all her problems had been doubled tenfold. Dread filled him and he stood up, fearing that things may not have gone as planned but his worries were unnecessary as she shook her head and winked at them.

* * *

><p>Forget her sleepless nights and haunting nightmares, the nuisance is gone!<p>

Mia punched the air with her fist as soon as she was in the privacy of her home. She had been hiding her feelings the whole time lest someone causes trouble for her. In a way, the stress that she had accumulated over the past week of school felt easier to deal with. No shitty teacher and at the moment, she had decided on a temporary relief for her sleep troubles. She doubted Tsuna would approve but it was necessary.

That sobered her up as she went to her room and opened the drawer on her desk. Tucked in a corner at the very back, she took out a small orange cylindrical container. Her father often reminded her to keep some medication on hand if she needed sleep. Through the plastic she could see at least six pills of Estazolam inside. She placed it on the table and went to change. Choosing to wear a baggy shirt and some shorts, she tied her hair into a messy bun and clipped her bangs away from her face.

She paused as she held Tsuna's blue vest in her hands. Cautiously looking around to see if anyone was watching and then finding none, she rubbed the garment against her cheek and smelled it deeply. Tsuna didn't know, but he had a nice smell that reminded her of a burning fireplace and grass. She liked it and found that it was very comforting. She folded it and put it in her bag ruefully. She had to give it back sometime.

She went into the room next door that she had temporarily used as a study with her Pa's permission. All the boxes she had received from the Ninth had been put into the room. She flipped the switch and a messy sight greeted her. The boxes were in plain sight… alongside the tower of boxes that her own father hoarded over the years. She figured that they would fit the picture and she was right. Nothing looked out of the ordinary unless you went looking for it.

On a desk was a ledger that she had left the previous night. She went towards it. She sat down and continued where she left off.

At the beginning, she didn't know where or when to start. Eventually, she had managed to find the Historical ledgers and began sorting through them. There were nine in total, with a ledger dedicated to each generation. They were thick with information on the boss at that time and their accomplishments, some holding copies of truces that bosses have signed with other Families. But she ignored all that and searched for the First Generation. Compared to the others, it was thinner and contained only the briefest of information on Vongola Primo and his Family.

But despite the lack of details, it shocked her.

The longer she immersed herself in it, the more she was befuddled by it. It confused her for the First Generation was nothing like its predecessors. Ever since she was a child, Mia had always had a good perception of things and the significance of it. Her mind was able to take events apart like a puzzle, trace the lines around the edges of each piece's importance, to know how it fits where and why, and to appreciate the resulting picture. To her, History was like that but the Vongola confused her so much she wondered if this is the same Vongola that existed now.

Something at large was working here, she thought as she gazed at a passage. There had to be more than this and she felt that pieces were still missing. Perhaps studying the other generations would help her but for the life of her, she could not imagine Tsuna becoming a cold-blooded ruthless boss. _That _was not his destiny. She knew. She could _feel _it.

Mia closed her eyes briefly. There was a part of her that she rarely acknowledged, because it terrified her. It sorely comes out in times of deep brooding such as now. It wasn't easy to explain; only that she had been much more aware of it after the whole event with Mukuro. She had an inkling how she had resisted his control and to dwell on it frightened her more than Mukuro ever could. She didn't want to focus on it but she let her mind switch gears to understand the problem that had presented itself before her.

In the vast ocean of thoughts that was her mind, she doubted that anyone, even Reborn, could comprehend the gravity of Tsuna's inheritance. The Vongola as it is now would never do, she concluded. From what she gathered from her short summarized lessons with Bianchi, the Vongola's history was a dark and bloodied one. Tsuna, who probably was the kindest soul she had the grace to cross with, wasn't meant for that. He could never become the boss that they wanted him to be because his heart was too soft for that harsh world. She leaned against her chair.

No, she didn't want him to change just so that he could suit that world.

A humorless chuckle escaped her lips. How does the Ninth expect her to convince Tsuna when she herself doesn't want to?

She didn't understand the Ninth's request. There were too many things it could mean and she did not have the time or the spare patience to pick it apart and figure it out.

But it came to her after she finished studying the First Generation. Like light casting its rays into the darkness, it illuminated the answer. She slowly straightened herself as it dawned on her. Absurd as it was, Mia could tell that quite possibly… this could be the one reason that Tsuna would _want_ to be boss. But she was hesitant in telling him. She respected his choices but this wasn't something to be overlooked either. It was an important heritage for him and she would not deny his right to know.

But was it alright to destroy whatever illusion of normalcy he had?

She didn't want to be the person to do that.

In fact, she had a feeling that if she told him, it would throw the whole status quo of the Vongola out of proportion. Pandemonium was just out there, waiting to happen. She sighed.

Glancing at the digital clock on the desk, it read 11:30.

"Time sure does flies," she murmured to herself.

Taking the ledger back with her to her room, she placed it on her bed and swallowed a sleeping pill dry. She crawled underneath the covers and placed the ledger underneath her pillow. From there, Mia turned off the light and waited for the drug to kick in. She felt the drowsiness come to her after a while and the soft lull of sleep. Her eyelids fluttered until they fell shut and for the first time since she came out of the hospital, she had fallen into a deep slumber.

* * *

><p>Tsuna knew Mia was hiding something from him despite acting normal about it. He didn't know how but he just did, which was funny because he was trying to avoid <em>her. <em>A week had gone by since the 'incident' – as the boys called it – and Tsuna had still not adjusted to the fact that Mia wore sexy lingerie. Every time he would look at her, the image of blue lace would pop into his mind and it would do everything in his power to resist a nosebleed.

Reborn had taken advantage of what he called his 'Virgin Power' to train him in the art of self-control. Tsuna hated it. He almost wished he could die of embarrassment. It didn't help either how Bianchi recounted all of the wares she brought for Mia to him – what resulted was him guessing what color of panties she was wearing that day.

Mia didn't notice their distance and Tsuna was glad of it because he didn't know what to make of his inexcusable thoughts. Until he had sorted that out, he couldn't bear to endorse himself any form of physical affection with her so no hugs, which was disheartening for him. To make up for it, he had picked up on his reading again. Even though he kept his distance, he wasn't apart from her and couldn't help but sense that she was being troubled.

The bags underneath her eyes were gone and she was much more active than before but underneath all that, was a sense of weariness. It dragged across her every movement that he couldn't help but take notice of and admittedly it was slowly killing him on the inside because for one, he knew personally as a close friend that Mia would _never _seek help and second, he was worried that it could become a self-destructive habit. After almost a week of it, he was sick of it and he decided to corner her alone on the roof after telling both Gokudera and Yamamoto that he needed to speak with her.

Both boys had sly grins on their faces and Tsuna had a feeling that they misunderstood his request. Still, they listened to him to give the privacy they needed and even helped out into cornering Mia so that she would dodge him again. When he went up into the roof, Mia was scowling at him. He smiled pleasantly at her.

"Okay, tell me what's bothering you." He walked towards her, watching her frown.

"Nothing's bothering me," she replied. He snorted.

"Right." They stood in front of each other. He remembered that they stood similarly like this before at the clearing. The memory felt so distant now, it felt like years ago. "Come on Mia, you can trust me," he pleaded softly to her.

Her resolve crumbled. He could see how she shifted her eyes away, unsure. He took a step closer. "You do trust me right?"

"I do," he heard her mumble. She sighed dejectedly. "How is it that you always know?"

"Hyper Intuition." He watched with amusement as her eyes widened.

"Seriously?" she said, slack-jawed. "That's one freaky gift you have there."

He scowled at her. "It's not freaky!" he defended.

"It is if you can sense stuff like a metal detector!"

Tsuna resisted the urge to reply to that. He could tell she was trying to distract him. "Mia," he started again. "What's wrong?"

"Tsuna…" She looked up at him and he could see it in her eyes that she wasn't going to tell him. Before she could say anything though, he grabbed her hand and squeezed it.

"I'm worried Mia. I respect your privacy but I just can't watch this anymore," he confessed. "I thought I was your best friend so why won't you let me help you?"

Guilt flooded her expression and for a moment, Tsuna regretted making her feel that way. It disappeared though as she threw her arms around his neck and hugged him fiercely. He went rigid with shock. "I'm sorry," she said. He nodded jerkily, his cheeks tainted with pink. Eventually he relaxed himself and awkwardly wrapped his arms around her waist, fighting the desire to pull her flush against him. He was happy that she was still comfortable enough to be weirdly affectionate with him after the… 'incident'… but he didn't know how to act around her anymore, especially with how confused he was with his own feelings.

He felt her bury her face into his shoulder and his heart quickened. "Are you sure you want to know?" she whispered. He fought the urge to shiver and nodded, too nervous to trust himself with words.

"Yeah," he rasped. Mia pulled back, to his relief but she didn't remove her hands that stayed on his shoulders. She gave him a searching look.

She took a deep breath and said, "If I were to tell you that the Vongola isn't what you thought it to be… would you consider?"

He was very curious and taken aback at the same time. Of all things she could have talked about it was this? His first thought was to say no because he wanted nothing to do with it. But after coming this far to convince her, he wasn't about to back down.

"I'm… interested I guess," he said uncertainly.

She licked her lips. His eyes followed the movement without his consent. "Tsuna, remember what Reborn taught us? When he explained how you were considered as a candidate for boss?"

"Yeah. Said I was related to the founder. Primo."

She nodded encouragingly. "That's right. You're a direct descendant of Vongola Primo, the founder of the Family."

He frowned at her. "Where are you going with this Mia?"

"Just hear me out," she told him. "You might not believe me but the Vongola started out as a vigilante group. Not a mafia family but an organization that fought to protect people."

He stared at her, dumbfounded. He wanted to laugh it off but Mia was being openly honest with him. He sensed no lie from her words but that didn't mean he wanted to accept it. He shook his head in denial. "If that's the case, then why did it turn into one?"

A sad smile crept on Mia's face. "Vongola Primo, your ancestor, was betrayed by one of his closest friends. If I had to guess, if he was anything like you Tsuna and I _know _you, he would never go against that friend. He stepped down from the position of boss and left for Japan."

"I…" he was at lost at what to say.

"The reason it turned into a Mafia Family is because Primo's cousin, Secondo took over the role and made it that way." She frowned into space.

"Why didn't he just fight his friend?" he wondered out loud.

Mia stared at him for a while then asked, "If I betrayed you Tsuna and you had no choice but to either kill me or spare me what would you do?"

"I would never hurt you!" he shook her shoulders, angry that she could even say that. Just the thought of it caused his heart to clench excruciatingly.

But Mia remained calm. "Then you understand why Primo couldn't just go against his friend." His fingers loosened slightly as his shoulders slumped, unable to deny that if he were in Primo's stead he would have done the same.

"How is it you know all about this?" He could see her defense mechanisms shutting down everything as her mouth clamped shut. She wasn't going to tell him how she knew and it made him angry. He had shared plenty of his insecurities with her and it cut him deeply how she couldn't return in courtesy. Did he mean so little to her? As if she predicted his reaction, she touched his face and forced him to look her in the eyes.

Her eyes were stern but her tone was kind, "Don't be mad Tsuna. I made a promise not to tell."

"To who?" he muttered.

"A friend." She ran a thumb across his cheek. The action washed whatever resentment he held at the moment away. "I can't betray their trust. You understand right?"

Eventually, he sighed. "Yeah." She smiled and he returned it in kind. "Why are you telling me this?" he asked her quietly.

It took her a moment to answer. "Because it's your choice."

"What?" He gaped at her defiant expression. "What?" he repeated again, coming off idiotic the second time he said it. She shook her head hopelessly. Her other hand came up until she held his face and very gently, clapped them on either side of his cheeks.

"Focus on me," she ordered. Easy, his mind thought. Every word and expression she had was like water to him – he'll drink it all up like a man dying of thirst.

"I want to help you," she started. "I know how much you hate to become someone you don't want to be but I can't strip your title away because it's a part of you. I can't change history and I can't tell Reborn to sod off – he would kill me for that." She laughed lightly. "You get what I'm trying to say?"

"Basically you're telling me that becoming the boss is inevitable." Mia didn't even bother denying it. Anger swelled in him for different reasons now and he wrenched her hands off of him. He turned away from her and said bitterly, "Thanks, if I wanted a reality check I would have had Reborn hit me." This was not what he expected to talk to her about and he was an idiot for pursuing it in the first place. This topic was something he avoided the most and for good reason – he was determined to not become the boss. The fact that she was sounding as if she was coaxing him into the role sent a flash of betrayal through him. He thought she understood him and thought that she was more but he was wrong. Contempt rose in him like an ugly illness but it was pushed back down by reason. Mia was sincere in her actions but it gave her no right to tell him that.

"Tsuna… I'm sorry." he heard her say and he shook his head.

"Don't," he said, not wanting to hear it. "I don't expect you to understand so just leave it alone."

There was silence. He waited for her to reply and when she did, her tone was filled with regret. "I won't," she promised.

He glanced slightly at her. He had never seen her look so defeated before along with a twisted smile that was on her lips. A spike of worry jolted in him when he realized it was the same expression she had at the welcoming party only it manifested itself to an actual honest expression. But he was still so angry at her that he disregarded it. The silence was stretched thinly before them until Mia decided to break it.

"I'll see you at class." She kept her eyes down as she passed him.

"Right," he replied stiffly. Then she was gone. He stayed there on the roof, brooding silently to himself for a while until he went back to class.

* * *

><p>Mia could not stand Gokudera and Yamamoto's questionable stares. She knew they sensed that something went wrong between Tsuna and her. She wouldn't blame them if they came to resent her for putting Tsuna in such a terrible mood. She didn't mean to, honestly. She thought it was for the best but there goes her arrogance again, assuming that whatever she thought it was right. For that, she hated herself because it caused a wall between them.<p>

She was a horrible friend, she told herself sullenly.

By the end of school, she disappeared before the bomber and the jock could call out for her. She didn't go back to her apartment, knowing that Gokudera would probably be there if he wasn't at Tsuna's side. Instead, she hopped on a bus that took her to the seashore. She didn't care where she went only that she could be alone for the time being. Since it was early October, the chill had begun to set in Japan and the beach was almost empty save for the fishermen's dock. She walked, not bothering where her feet took her.

She shouldn't have given in, she chastised herself. If she wasn't so pitiful, she could have prevented that situation from happening. Tsuna didn't want to be boss, period. Why didn't she listen? In fact, why was he still friends with her anyway? Her sense of humor was weird, trouble loved to find her and she was more of a burden than Kyoko and Haru ever could be. The way her thinking progressed, she thought that he was better off not being with her. All she did was cause misery. A familiar well of sadness consumed her heart.

She found a bench to sit on that overlooked the sea and sat on it.

She wallowed there until the sun set and the stars twinkled in the sky. Mia begun to hum a slow tune that matched her mood and continued to hum as the night dragged on. All she could hear was the crashing of waves and her own voice. It soothed her heart and brought peace to her mind. When she came home, it was past two in the morning.

Deciding that one pill will be too much, she halved it with a kitchen knife and swallowed a half piece. As she waited for sleep to come to her, she remembered how Tsuna looked at her and buried her face into her pillow. When sleep took her, the nightmares came and she realized the next morning, soaked with sweat and trembling that her temporary reprieve was gone now.

She was left in the mercy of her own mind and terror like never before overcame her.

How could she fight against the one thing that kept her strong?

* * *

><p>Reborn noticed the distance between the two. Tsuna and Mia barely spoke other than to exchange some pleasantries. At first neither of them seemed willing to talk to the other then Tsuna began to be more open. It was Mia who remained withdrawn, keeping a safe and respectable distance as if she didn't want to get close. Tsuna was becoming increasingly worried and with good reason. As some days went on and while Mia appeared to be healthy, her state of mind was becoming… off.<p>

For one was she was much too alert, almost as if she was paranoid and second, there was a haunted look in her eye. It looked like the early signs of PTSD and he wondered why it only developed now. He expected it ever since she woke up but she managed, not letting her fears stand in her way. Could a spat between her and Tsuna be the final straw? He didn't know so he decided to terrorize his student into telling him. Tsuna, doing the name Vongola proud, had his mouth clamped shut as tight as a clam would. He would not tell him what he wanted to know but he admitted that he had said some rather hurtful things to her in an argument.

Reborn sighed. "Lovers' quarrels are so troublesome." The tip of Tsuna's ears went red. "You need to talk to her."

Tsuna's shoulders sagged. "I've been trying to," he said miserably. "But… she…" he couldn't find the words to describe it. "I think she's afraid of me," he finally said. She never mentioned a word of their argument but every word that came out of her mouth after that sounded so scripted, answering how they expected her to answer. He didn't like it. It didn't feel like the girl he knew that was so spirited.

Reborn had proved once again how adept he was at reading people. "She's insecure."

He stared at his tutor in disbelief. "Are we talking about the same person here?"

"Dame-Tsuna, she's only fourteen. All teenagers are insecure about something." He reminded him.

"But Mia, _insecure?_ You do remember she's the girl that got Nezu fired right?"

"I'm well aware of that." Reborn slapped him with a green stick. He yelped. "Now listen closely," the baby pointed the stick threateningly in between his eyes. "I'll only explain this once so you better get this in your head. I doubt that Mia realizes what she's doing to herself – as some people are. It's called self-loathing. She hates who she is."

Tsuna blinked. "But that's…" he trailed off. "Why would she – she's a wonderful person!"

"She will never see it that way," Reborn calmly said. "People like her would rather give an arm or a leg just to make those important to them happy disregarding their own happiness. I wasn't sure of it before but this just proves it."

"How does this prove it?" Tsuna asked thickly, unable to wrap his head around it.

"She doesn't want to make you unhappy so she stopped being herself since that's what started this whole argument – probably because she was sticking her nose in someone else's business where it doesn't belong." The hitman was spot on and Tsuna couldn't retaliate. It was true she was being nosy, but she didn't mean any harm by it. "Same goes to her father," Reborn continued. He petted Leon. "She doesn't want to cause him unnecessary grief so she lets him do whatever he wants – including abandoning her in favor of his work."

Tears welled up in his eyes unknowingly and he bit his lip. Sympathy, anger and sadness overwhelmed him. Sympathy because he understood how she felt, anger at himself and sadness for her. "I didn't want to make her sad," he whispered. "What can I do?" he moaned miserably.

Reborn remained silent as he contemplated for an answer. "Let her deal with it herself. This is something she can only overcome. Other than that, there's another thing that concerns me."

There's more? Tsuna thought.

"Mia might be developing PTSD."

"PTSD?" Tsuna asked.

"Post Traumatic Stress Disorder," Reborn answered. "So far she has only shown few symptoms if left alone, it could lead to a dire outcome."

Whatever that was, it sounded horrible to him.

"I expected too much of her," Reborn said quietly. "Her natural ability to resist mental attacks didn't ensure the safety of her own mind and now she's probably afraid to even sleep at night. Mukuro really did a number a number on her."

At the sound of the illusionist's name, he gnashed his teeth together in anger, for himself, at the stupid pineapple and the world in general. His fists shook at his own helplessness and regret.

"I… have to help her."

Reborn nodded. "As you should. If anyone could help her, it's you."

Tsuna stared at his tutor, humbled by his faith in him. He didn't know how to reply to that but took those words to heart as encouragement. He gave a single nod. He turned to start planning on how to approach Mia without scaring her off when something occurred to him. Trying to keep his voice void of interest, he asked his tutor, "Reborn, did Vongola Primo really start the Vongola to protect people?"

"Hmnn? Yes, he did. The Vongola was created to protect those who cannot be protected by the law at the time." Tsuna nodded and left. When he was gone, Reborn murmured to himself quietly. "Now where did he learn that?"

* * *

><p>Mia had proven herself to be a tough cookie and even a tougher person to follow. As soon as classes were over, Mia had disappeared among the masses. Tsuna cursed. Even when enlisting the aid of all his friends Mia was quick to conceal herself.<p>

"Did anybody find her?" he asked when they gathered in the park.

"I could not extremely find her at school!" Ryohei declared.

"She wasn't at the usual places that she likes to be," Yamamoto reported.

"Mia-chan wasn't in the shopping district." Kyoko frowned worriedly.

"Hahi! Why are we looking for Mia-chan anyway?" Haru wondered.

Tsuna released a heavy sigh. "We had a fight a few days ago. I said some mean things and I wanted to apologize."

They didn't question what they fought about considering how he looked like he didn't want to talk about it and instead offered words of encouragement. He smiled gratefully at them then addressed the surprisingly last person to report. "What about you Gokudera-kun?"

The silver-haired bomber was staring down at the ground, his brows set in a deep frown. "Forgive me for saying so Tenth but… I believe it would be best to just wait for Mia-sama to return."

"How can you say that Gokudera-san?" Haru demanded. "Mia-chan must be suffering all alone right now!"

"Shut it stupid woman! Mia-sama will come back once she feels better!" Gokudera retorted.

"How do you know Mia-chan will?" Haru shot back.

"Because she always does," Gokudera simply said.

They all stared at him. Gokudera fidgeted nervously under their stares. "Wait, you mean to say that she often does this?" Tsuna asked.

"Not often but she does it sometimes," Gokudera admitted. "Some nights she would take a walk for an hour or so… a few nights ago after your fight with her Tenth, I waited for as long as I could for her return. I was going to report the day after but she home way past midnight. She wasn't hurt at all!" he added quickly at the sight of Tsuna's alarm.

"You sound like a stalker Gokudera-san," Haru commented.

Gokudera rounded on her. "Oh shut it you hag! For your information, I live next door to Mia-sama!"

Tsuna ignored them as he considered Gokudera's proposition. He did believe it would be a waste of time to go searching for her. If Mia didn't want to be found, she won't show up. As much as he hated to, he decided to wait.

"Thanks a lot you guys," he told his friends warmly.

* * *

><p>He decided to sleep over at Gokudera's for the night. His friend was very ecstatic to have him around, much to his chagrin. He offered almost the best for him – dinner, the best seat, the remote and even the bed which Tsuna all declined politely. Time continued to tick on. From an hour to the next, he waited until it was too late and they decided to get some sleep.<p>

As Tsuna lied in his futon, he couldn't stop his thoughts and his guilt from keeping him awake. He was aware that the time right now was probably around eleven and that Mia had been gone for a very long while. A knot of worry developed in his stomach. Where could she be at this time?

It seemed almost an eternity when he heard the soft _click_ of a door being unlocked and the soft footsteps. He immediately rose. Gokudera was fast asleep; Tsuna decided not to wake his friend and crept outside. As he stood in front of her door with trepidation, Tsuna took a deep breath and knocked. Five… Ten… Twenty minutes passed. Nothing.

Maybe in the morning? No, he shook his head. He wasted enough time as it is. He either do it now or never. An idea formed in his mind and he hoped that Mia won't push him off the window.

His great idea was to enter through the window, specifically her window by using his gloves. Thank god he asked to borrow Leon before he left home. As he hovered in midair, he fumbled with the window and managed to slide it open. Pushing the curtains aside, the flame on his forehead illuminated the dark room. He crept silently inside and shut the window so the cold air won't come in.

A whimper startled him and he turned to see Mia curled in around herself, the pillows and sheets in a tangled mess around her. She twitched and whimpered in her sleep and Tsuna had pulled off his gloves. They turned into mittens and he stuffed them in his pocket. He crouched beside her bed. A feeble noise escaped her and Tsuna couldn't watch her like this anymore. He shook her shoulder lightly.

"Mia," he called her name out softly. She didn't wake and only curled more into herself like a hedgehog.

He placed a hand on her face, feeling her skin clammy. He called out her name again, albeit a bit louder. She still did not wake. Why won't she wake up? He looked around her room and something small and orange caught his eye. He walked towards it and plucked it off the desk. His whole body went still. In his hand, he held a canister of sleeping pills. He slowly turned to look at the girl at the bed.

"Oh Mia," he whispered out, his heart weighed heavily by pain.

The flame on his forehead extinguished. He set the pills back on the table and crouched back beside her again. "I'm sorry," he apologized quietly. "I never meant to hurt you the way I did." He placed a hand against her cheek. Her hands that were so close to her chest reached out slowly to grasp at his hand. Her fingers were riddled with sleep but it did not change the fact that she was seeking for comfort from beyond her nightmares.

He desperately wanted to comfort her any way that he could, just so that she could be spared from the pain. Making a split decision that probably was a horrible idea; he clambered on to her bed and lied down beside her. There was nothing more comforting than a hug for him so he hoped that this would be enough. He just wanted her to be his normal Mia again.

He pulled her against his chest and tucked his chin on the crown of her head. Slowly, her body began to relax as it recognized another next to it, like a moth being drawn to a flame, her arms wrapped around his torso as she sought his warmth. Sleep was heavy on his eyelids and as they almost flutter shut, Mia snuggled into his chest, letting out a sigh of content. His breath hitched as he realized just what kind of hell will be raised in the morning but found too tired to care about it.

Mia smelled so nice it was impossible not to be lulled to sleep by it. In a matter of seconds, he was asleep.

* * *

><p>It was odd, she thought as she struggled to be awake. She felt better than she had for a while. It was like as if the nightmares had been chased away during the night. She breathed through her nose and smelled a familiar scent. With effort, she opened her eyes… only to be greeted by the serene sleeping face of Sawada Tsunayoshi.<p>

She froze. She was suddenly aware of how their arms were wrapped around each other and the close proximity of their bodies. But the better question would be was why the hell was Tsuna in her goddamn bed? She untangled herself and slowly got up only to have an arm wrap across her stomach and pull her down with her back against him. She blushed as he spooned her. She wriggled in his grasp.

"Tsuna!" she squeaked when he buried his face into her shoulder blades.

Embarrassed and unable to form one coherent thought, she decided not to move until Tsuna moved of his own accord. When he wakes up, Mia will be mad but for now, with all these butterflies flying in her stomach, she decided to get a little bit more of sleep.

Meanwhile, a green chameleon had transformed into a camera and proceeded to take pictures of them unknowingly.

* * *

><p><strong>Good, bad? You guys know the drill. <strong>

**REVIEW? **


	17. To Feel

**AWWWWWW YISSSSSS... I GOT AN INTERNSHIP! I am so happy right now. I literally choked on my spit when I got the message like holy friggin cheese dog! I'm also happy that I got so many positive reviews from my last chapter. I just wanna warn you guys that the Varia Arc may not happen too soon because I have a shitload of Daily Life Arcs to cover like seriously wtf. I have to introduce some characters that would play a vital role for Mia's involvement in the Future Arc - I really want to cover the box weapon's history.**

**Mostly OCs but they won't appear always. Just at the right chapter.**

**Just for the record, by the time I reach the Simon Arc, Tsuna and Co. would probably be aged up by then.**

**Kokuyo Arc: Mia - 14, Tsuna - 13 (because I wanted to do his birthday)**

**Varia Arc: 15**

**Future Arc: 16 **

**Simon Arc: 17 (?) **

**Like holy shit, I'm sticking to canon but I'm not staying with their ages. When I looked over the timeline, the Daily Life Arc had gotten split into three and at that time, Tsuna was still 14. Not a lot of it makes sense and I want to fix that.**

**To my anonymous readers:**

**Dislami-chan: I'm sorry but I can't write another story when it's going to happen anyways here. I just hope you're patient enough to see it. As for a possible romantic rival? I was leaning in on Enma but I thought I have something better for him. I also entertained Byakuran but then he smells of a lunatic so there's no romance involved in there. Just greed. Or lust. Whatever you guys might interpret that as. **

**Silver-chan: Thank you for that wonderful review, it was pleasing to my sore eyes (because I'm sick right now). I feel like I've just self-fulfilled my inner fangirl dreams because I could never find an OCxTsuna fic that just felt right you know? Or maybe the love-pentagon-harem-something ruined it for me.**

**READ THE NOTE BELOW KORA! **

**Disclaimer: I don't own KHR. But hey, I feel better because I have a sword in my room. How is that not cool?**

* * *

><p>It was the sound of beeping that woke Tsuna from his comfortable slumber.<p>

He groaned, not wanting to face the day and buried his face into something certainly soft and warm. The weight held against him stiffened and Tsuna frowned. Finding it a bit uncomfortable, he adjusted his hold and continued to burry himself into the intoxicating smell until he was happy with the arrangements. Never before had he been so contented asleep but it was strange, because his dreams weren't usually as vivid as the scent he could smell right now.

The smell of old worn out paper and the mild sweetness of nature was so real and familiar it roused his consciousness. He frowned again; eyes still closed and let his hands wander. His brain was still addled with sleep therefore he could not comprehend what he was doing as he felt the weight stiffen even more. Frowning, his hand slid up, brushing against cloth to touch something smooth and warm.

"Kya!" He was thrown off the bed at the sudden cry. Hitting his head against the floor, his eyes snapped open to lock into a pair of cornflower blue eyes. A cold chill ran down his spine as a surge of memories came rushing back to him.

"Um," he said. "Hi…?"

Mia looked down at him from her bed, her arms wrapped around herself, her hair in an attractively tangled mess and her face flushed. They stared at each other before Mia's face twisted into a vicious snarl and Tsuna merely had seconds to react as she lunged at him with a lion's murderous intent. He rolled away just in time as she landed beside him. He scrambled on to his feet but was brought down again as Mia tackled him from behind and into the ground. He yelped as they went down.

He could not believe this was the same girl that was suffering alone at night in her sleep. Mia was completely different as she wrestled with him on the floor. Her strength surprised him as they rolled from side to side, knocking things off tables and shelves. Eventually she managed to overpower him – something that he totally did not see coming – and pinned him down while straddling his waist. Tsuna will admit, he could have thrown her off if he wanted to but their current position paralyzed him from head to toe.

He would have had a bloody fit if Mia's face hadn't loomed into view.

Her face was a canvas of different emotions. It amazed him how much feeling she could convey with expressions alone. Some he could name, others were too quick for him to guess. She struggled to compose herself and eventually succeeded. Her eyes glanced to an item on Tsuna's far left. He followed her gaze and saw that it was her pills.

"I've had insomnia since I was a child so I kept those for when I really need it," she explained, her voice low. He turned to look at her, she didn't meet his eyes. "Lately it's been more than just insomnia that keeps me up at night."

"I'm sorry," he blurted out. Mia met his eyes at last and stared at him for a long moment. He didn't break his gaze away. He couldn't read her for she kept her expression unnaturally blank.

"Why, pray tell," she started with that same low tone that had warning bells ringing in his head. "Were you with me in bed?"

Knowing that he was treading on the lands of Mordor, he tried to come up with a reasonable response. He felt her shift her weight and his thoughts were thrown into disarray.

"M-M-Mia, maybe you should get off me?" he stuttered out.

"No." Her blue eyes flashed. "I won't get off until you tell me."

In his panic, he blurted, "I wanted to sleep with you!"

Stunned, she froze on top of him. Then heat flooded her cheeks and she pulled her arm back, her fingers curling into a fist. Realizing what he just said, he frantically tried to amend himself by saying, "T-That's not what I meant! Y-You were having a nightmare so – " All color drained off her face and she got off him.

"Mia?" He slowly got off the floor, weary that she might attack him again.

"Go home Tsuna," she said, her voice barely a whisper. He could see her hands tremble.

"I can't just do that!" he exclaimed. He took a step closer to her. "I'm sorry for getting angry. You were just looking out for me, I know that now."

Mia wearily glanced at him then turned to look at the far wall. "You didn't have to worry. I'll get better."

"But you're not," he insisted.

"No," she agreed. She rubbed her face tiredly with her hands. "I wish you didn't have to see that," she whispered. It hit him that Mia was feeling ashamed of her own weakness. He could relate to that because he felt it when any of his friends were hurt, more than once, especially when he couldn't protect her. But at the same time, his admiration for her rose to new heights.

For someone like him who needed support to get where they are now, Mia stood on her own feet. She may have faltered in her steps but surely, she was beginning to get her pace again. He didn't doubt that she could get better on her own – she could probably do it with time but he wanted to help her, the way she helped him to start walking his own path. Maybe those books she had lent him all those months ago inspired the poetic side of him but he couldn't put it any other way.

He reached out and touched her shoulder, then gripped it firmly. Mia refused to look at him but that was alright.

"It doesn't make me think any less of you," he said gently. "I can help you."

"I'll be alright," she assured him. "I'll do fine on my own."

No, he won't agree to that. Mia may have the sharper tongue but he had the patience to outlast her. He _will_ make her take this one compromise from him. "If that's the case then at least let me be the one person you're willing to appear weak for."

She sharply looked at him, at his strange choice of words and at his way of speaking. He allowed himself a small teasing smile.

"Can't you do that for yourself at least? And if you can't, do it for me?" Mia stared at him, stunned as if he had just plucked the words from her heart. Maybe he did, maybe not but he was absolutely sure that if he couldn't convince her, it would have swayed her iron will. She looked away, a faint smile on her face.

"Cheater," she accused him. Oh how well she had gotten to know him. "I'm going to start hating on that Intuition of yours."

"That's fine with me," he told her rather smugly. In a fit of courage that he never knew he had, he added "As long as you're happy at the end, that's all that means to me."

She stared at him for a good long while until anxiety crept into his bones. _Did I go too far?_ He thought with a touch of panic. He froze as she slipped away from him. His brain practically stopped functioning as she kissed not on one cheek but both, taking her sweet time for him to imprint the feel of her lips into his memory before wrapping her arms around his neck. It was an overload of sensations that shot his nerves to a crisp. He could practically feel his ears smoking.

"Thank you," she whispered into his ear. He thanked god for Reborn's self-control training. He didn't know what he would have done if he didn't have control over his body. Mia, blast the girl, made it worse by chuckling in his ear, the sound causing his heart to beat loudly in his ears.

"Such a boy," she teased him. He blushed even harder. To cover his embarrassment, he hugged her tightly in return and buried his face into her shoulder. She squeaked.

"Two can play at that game," he muttered grudgingly. It was a dangerous game and Mia may end up killing him if he won but he missed her.

But unfortunately, their game was disrupted as a frantic voice pierced through Mia's walls.

"Tenth!" Long and drawn out, Tsuna resisted the urge to face palm. Mia let go of him. They shared a glance before bolting out of her apartment. Luckily for them Gokudera had moved right next to Mia so it was easy to intercept him before the bomber blew a door off a poor neighbor's room. Tsuna was quick to catch his friend's wrist before he pulled out some dynamite. Gokudera looked like he was about to threaten him until he saw him.

"Tenth!" Gokudera said, relieved. Tsuna let go of his wrist and Mia joined them. "Mia-sama!"

Mia stared him down with a stern gaze. Gokudera guiltily looked down on his shoes. Tsuna never thought about it before but he recently noticed how Mia easily cowed his friends with a single brow. Now _that_ was impressive and she wasn't even a hitman.

"This has been a rather eventful morning," she commented.

"_Very_," Tsuna said, his tone bordering on cocky. Mia kicked him in the shins. He bit back a curse.

Gokudera looked at them, his green eyes wide. They jumped when he clapped his hands together, eyes sparkling unnaturally hopeful. "You're not fighting anymore? Tenth? Mia-sama?"

"No." Gokudera literally slipped into a state of happiness.

"I'm so glad!" To say they were freaked out was an understatement. Gokudera was acting so much out of character, that it weirded the both of them out.

"Breakfast?" Mia offered to them. Tsuna's stomach growled and he grinned at her. As if he would refuse.

* * *

><p>Reborn followed his students around at school. To his surprise, he was very pleased that the two had made up. Well to be fair, Tsuna was a sad sight without Mia. Mia on the other hand, reminded Reborn very much of his past life – the identity he had left to pursue a new one. It strung the nostalgic cords of sympathy before he became a hitman and he sincerely thought that despite her blessed intelligence, she could be an idiot from time to time. Tsuna feared danger while Mia embraced it like it was family. He sighed, such a troublesome girl.<p>

But their fight did bring some things to his notice. For one, Tsuna had a shift of perspective regarding his position of boss. He hadn't denied it lately but he didn't accept it entirely either. Second was that Tsuna had begun to develop some 'particular' feelings towards his best friend. It was obvious by now how smitten he was although if he started kissing the ground Mia walks on like his father would do; Reborn will shoot him. He could just foresee how annoying it would be if Tsuna were to become anything like his parents. It was already annoying when it was with Sasagawa Kyoko because he kept dripping drool.

Speaking of her… Reborn turned his sights to the younger sister of Sasagawa Ryohei.

The girl was about to ask Tsuna to go out with her the other day. Then Hibari came in and crushed her chances. Well, if she wanted to go after Tsuna then Reborn won't stop her. If was funnier that way. Mia may not have realized her feelings entirely yet – although it was hard for him to decipher considering that the girl guarded her emotions well – but when she will…

A hundred scenarios came into mind, one much more amusing than the last. He devilishly grinned and watched as Tsuna jump five feet in the air as he was wrecked with shivers. Huh, it looks like Tsuna's range for sensing malicious intent grew. He was ten feet away from the building, hiding in a tree. That was the last thing that Reborn noticed. Tsuna's awareness was steadily progressing. Soon, he would have to help the young don to master his Hyper Intuition. Tsuna kept on sneaking paranoid glances around him.

Reborn smirked and dropped down from the branch he was on.

Well, as fun as the foreseeable future would be he had to address some pressing matters first. Like Mia's PTSD. It was just in its early stages and needed to be dealt with before it would turn to something worse. That and a curious letter from the Ninth came in.

After school, he had Tsuna's friends gather at his house in his room. When they came, found him calmly sipping his espresso. He inwardly smirked when they looked at each other nervously, unable to find the source of their discomfort. Even Ryohei looked uncomfortable. Tsuna was the only one who looked undisturbed although he shot a frown towards his tutor.

"Where's Mia?" Reborn inquired. Only the boys were in Tsuna's room. He was aware though that the girls were downstairs.

"She's helping Mom with the snacks." Tsuna eyed him suspiciously. Reborn grunted.

"We can't start without her." Tsuna's eyebrows shot to his hairline.

"Why?" Reborn ignored him.

"Gokudera, can you bring her up?" he ordered the teenager. Gokudera stood up uncertainly.

"Mia-sama… isn't in trouble or anything like that right Reborn-san?" he carefully asked the hitman. A twinge of interest made Reborn eye the bomber a bit more closely. Well, Gokudera never showed an attraction to Mia but then again he was more concerned of being the Right Hand man. Still, teenagers are hilarious when flustered.

"No. I just want her input of what I'm about to speak to all of you." Gokudera nodded, relieved and went down to fetch Mia. Yamamoto propped himself on the table while Ryohei relaxed across him and Tsuna sat down on his bed. He was still eyeing his tutor. Reborn inwardly scoffed. He wasn't planning anything today… except maybe a bit of chaos.

Minutes later, Gokudera came back with Mia in tow. Her hair was tied and clipped back today, Reborn wondered if her current mood changed with her hairstyle. Her blue eyes were sharp when they met his. They took their seats and Reborn began.

"I've received a letter from the Ninth."

"What did he say?" Tsuna asked a tint of genuine curiosity in his tone.

"First of, he says that the Mukuro affair was handled well." Tsuna's face turned pink at the praise. Gokudera and Yamamoto beamed while Ryohei looked at them, confused.

"Who extremely is the Ninth?"

Gokudera's smile froze in place. A second after that he rounded on the boxer viciously. "How can you not know the Ninth turf top?!"

Affronted, Ryohei retorted "As if I would extremely know someone I haven't met!"

"He's Tsuna's grandpa on his dad's side," Mia answered. Everybody turned to her in surprise then at Tsuna to confirm if it was true.

"Really Tsuna?" Yamamoto asked.

Tsuna panicked. Reborn decided to save him. "Yup, technically they're distantly related but as an elder family member, Tsuna refers to him as a 'grandpa'."

A troubled frown made its way to Tsuna's lips as if something just occurred to him. He glanced at Mia but she wasn't looking at him, opting instead to stare intensely outside the window. While the others continued to bicker about Tsuna's family, Reborn watched as Tsuna's frown morphed into a pout. Mia sat close to his feet so he decided to nudge her with his foot. With enough nudging, Mia looked up at him. Their exchange was silent. Reborn, who was a master of reading people, interpreted it easily enough.

'_You're ignoring me.' _

'_Stop being such a baby.' _

'_You put me in that position!' _

'_You can thank me later.' _Tsuna scowled and looked away. Mia stifled a giggle at his childish behavior and rested her head against his knee. The scowl melted to be replaced by a soft quirk of the lips. Reborn didn't need skill to tell that Tsuna was content.

"The Ninth also says he wants to personally dine with all of you." Silence befell them. Only Mia remained where she was. Her eyes were closed. "Oh, and he'll be here next week."

* * *

><p>His brain shut down.<p>

The Ninth boss was coming to Japan. To dine with them. With _them_. It was like a King coming over to go for pizza with peasants. While Gokudera went on how honored he was, Tsuna just wondered if he'll be able to keep his head because you know… the Godfather was coming to his home turf. Hopefully he won't bust a cap on his lanky ass. Damn, Mia was really starting to rub off on him with her references to pop culture.

Speaking of Mia, she had gone rather silent and merely watched as the boys lost their heads over the Ninth's visit. Without meaning to, he placed a hand on her head. She didn't shake it off or anything and he took that as a good sign.

"Something on your mind?" he asked.

"Wait for it," she told him. When the excitement died down, Reborn pointedly looked at her.

"Mia." She lolled her head to glance at the hitman.

"I swear, I didn't do anything," she said firmly.

"That's not what we're going to talk about." Mia sat up straighter and exchanged looks with him. Tsuna shrugged.

"Okay," she said uncertainly. "So what is it about?"

"You're becoming dead weight," Reborn told her bluntly.

"Reborn!" Tsuna snapped at his tutor. Before he could shout or reprimand him, Mia patted his knee soothingly. "And how could you be so calm about this?" he demanded her.

"_I miei problemi non va via per una notte Tsuna,_" she said ("My problems won't go away overnight Tsuna."). Then switching to Japanese she said, "I could go to my psychologist but he's been dead for two years. What should I do?"

Her straight up reply surprised Reborn which in turn shocked Tsuna. You don't see the hitman making that kind of expression and not live to tell the tale. Then again he didn't know if he should take Mia seriously or not either but she stared right back at Reborn with resolute eyes.

"You're aware?" Reborn asked her.

She snorted. "I was traumatized when I was a kid. You don't walk away from that and not expect something to happen to you." Her lips turned down. "Now that I remember it, Dr. Jameson told me about that. That explains a lot."

Tsuna had trouble understanding how Mia could just sit there and talk like it was nothing? And what the hell happened to her when she was a child? A sudden thought occurred to her.

"I'm not going to have panic attacks right?" she asked Reborn.

"No." She sighed in relief.

"Ano…" Yamamoto scratched his cheek. "I'm not sure what we're talking about here."

"Mia sounds like she's extremely sick! Shall we take you to the doctor?" Ryohei practically shoved his face into her personal space. Keeping a polite smile on her face, she leaned more into Tsuna's leg and waved him off.

"Nah… I'm good."

"We mustn't take chances with our health! We only live extremely once!"

"YOLO am I right?" Mia joked. "But seriously, I'm not dying or anything like that."

Ryohei was replaced when Gokudera shoved his face away. "Are you sure Mia-sama?"

Her face softened. "Yeah." Tsuna squirmed uncomfortably at their exchange. He didn't like the way how they looked at each other with sincerity. Luckily for him, Ryohei smashed foreheads with Gokudera.

"What did you think you were doing Octopus-head?"

"I was checking on Mia-sama you airheaded turf top!"

"You didn't have to push me like that!"

"Your face was in the way!"

Mia sweat dropped at their argument.

"Maa maa Gokudera, Senpai, aren't we off topic?" Yamamoto said.

"He's right," Reborn huffed. The two teenagers grumbled as they took their seats again. Reborn faced Mia. "I can only conclude so far that one method has worked for you."

"Oh?" Mia said, looking interested. Reborn smirked and Tsuna had a feeling that he wouldn't like where this was going.

"Apparently, you need someone to sleep with you." Oh that little… _no he did not!_ Reborn flashed him a cheeky smirk. He tried very hard to control his facial expressions and to not, you know, try and kill Reborn because that's just stupid. Mia's cheeks were pink and she wasn't looking at him. Probably for the best. He tried to act cool about it and not show how nervous he really was.

"Are you suggesting what I think you are suggesting?" she said, her voice higher than usual.

"Oh you know it."

"No," she vehemently said.

"I'm sure you're aware that – "

"No."

"Relying on your prescriptions won't help you now. Your mental wounds are too deep for them to work."

"I – "

"Don't be a child. You're more reasonable than that."

Mia bowed her head. "Any other way to deal with it?"

"You can talk if you want."

"No." Her answer was flat.

Reborn examined her. "You cope better when you're supported by others. Since you won't talk about it, it's best if you had somebody around you. Living alone right now isn't healthy for you."

Tsuna worriedly glanced at her. Mia's expression was cool as it could be except that her fists betrayed her feelings. They trembled in her lap. "What's your solution then?" He could just see the defense mechanisms ready to drop down on her heart.

Reborn unexpectedly turned to Gokudera. "Gokudera, move in with her."

Eh? Did he hear that correctly? Gokudera move in with Mia? That was really funny, he thought although in reality he was itching to hurl a fistful of flames at his tutor's face. In fact, his fingers were twitching. A pleasant smile was frozen on his face and he was faintly aware of how every single guy in the room practically scrambled away from him. Just thinking of another guy hugging Mia like he did just made him want to awaken his inner pyromaniac. He couldn't stand the thought of it. His stomach churned uneasily.

Gokudera was shaking his head frantically, seriously scared for his life as he threw a panicked look at Tsuna. "I could never do that Reborn-san!"

"Reborn!" Mia hissed. "That's not funny!" Her hand went up to grip one of his hands.

"Yes well, I can't very well have Tsuna stay with you either." Mia flushed.

"I could stay with Mia-nee," a soft young voice called out. They all turned towards the door. Fuuta was peeking at them through a crack from the opened door. When he saw that he got everybody's attention, he stepped inside and shut the door. He looked back at them then down to his hands which he fiddled with.

"Fuuta…" Mia slowly stood up.

"I heard that you weren't feeling right lately Mia-nee." He didn't look up at her. "It's my fault right? If only I was more careful you wouldn't…" he sniffed. Mia gathered him into her arms and stroked his head.

"_Non è colpa tua," _she said to him ("It's not your fault."). "Don't cry. It's just a bunch of nightmares – I'll get through it." She assured him. Tsuna watched as she brushed Fuuta's tears from his cheeks.

"But…"

"I told you it wasn't your fault right Fuuta? See? Mia agrees with me." Mia nodded at him.

"That's right! If there's anyone to blame, it's that Mukuro bastard!" Gokudera added.

"They're right Fuuta. No one here blames you at all," Yamamoto told the young boy.

"I don't extremely get it but it's not your extreme fault!" Ryohei punched the air with his fist.

"Even so, I want to help Mia-nee. However I can!" Fuuta pleadingly looked at him and Tsuna realized that he was seeking permission from him. Everybody else seemed to have the same idea only Mia did not turn away from Fuuta's face. He looked at her back. He believed she was strong but everybody needs help at some point. She trusted him with her weakness so he was going to do anything he can to help her. Besides, she didn't seem to be saying no.

"Is that alright Reborn?" He turned towards his tutor.

"It wouldn't be a bother to you right Gokudera? In addition to Mia's safety, you'll be looking after Fuuta as well," Reborn said.

"Never Reborn-san! I'd be happy to." He looked more relieved than happy but Tsuna didn't mind it.

"Then it's settled."

After that, Reborn dismissed them saying that he'll gather them up on another day to discuss their meal with the ninth. As the others filtered out of the room, Tsuna and Reborn were left inside.

"Dame-Tsuna, these are really nice pictures you know that?" he flashed several photos in the air. Each and every single one of them had him and Mia together on the bed. He turned as hot as the sun. One picture showed his hand slipping underneath her shirt. "Oh wait, this is my personal favorite." The last one made him snap and he lunged at his tutor. Reborn easily dodged him but Tsuna was going to get that picture even if it killed him. Because that last one held his reaction when Mia kissed his cheeks, if she ever saw that… he didn't even want to know what she would think.

Reborn jumped out of the window and stuffed the pictures into his hat. Tsuna – who was clearly out of his senses at that moment – followed and launched himself out of the window. He grabbed on to the branch where Reborn stood and with all his strength, swung himself on top of it. But he underestimated the branch's durability and with a sickening crack, it gave way and he fell.

"Ah!" He yelped when he hit the ground.

"Heh, since you're so insistent, I'll give this one to you." Reborn peered down at him from the tree. Tsuna blinked as something fluttered to his chest and with a groan, picked up the picture. It was the last one. He stared at his expression then furiously stuffed it into his pocket, heart thudding loudly. Several voices suddenly called out to him and he stood up, dusting his jeans as he did so.

"Tsuna-kun, what happened to you?"

"Tsuna-san, are you alright?" Haru and Kyoko worried over him. His friends came along after that. While each of them asked what happened, he saw Mia standing in the back. She looked at him, then at the branch and then at the window. Seeming to get the idea, a lopsided smile came to her face. She shook her head at him and he flushed. He could just hear her calling him an idiot in that not-really-offensive-way.

But he was fine with that. The picture in his pocket weighed heavily. He was fine of her thinking of him as an idiot from time to time because he really was an idiot right now. She caught his eye again and he was reminded how strange he was feeling.

And to be honest? He liked these feelings.

* * *

><p>Mia had no idea how to explain to her father that a ten-year old child was now living with them. Not that she minded, having Fuuta around was like having a younger brother and for someone who's an only child; she embraced him with open arms. Besides, he was a sweetheart. After moving in with her, Fuuta did his best to help around the place and when they went to bed, she started to read him stories. Admittedly, Reborn's method did work. She <em>did <em>sleep better with Fuuta around.

Well, it didn't start all that great. Fuuta was frightened the first time but he understood what she went through and tried to do what he can for her. Like talk which was not her thing when it comes to her feelings. She tried, ended up biting her tongue. How that happened she assumed being secretive was ingrained in her very nature. Still, she got better but the nightmares never really went away.

Four days before the Ninth's arrival, a letter arrived from her Grandfather in England. When she opened it, it was a letter requesting for her and her father to attend a family gathering. An event was going to be held to honor the World War II veterans there. She checked the date, it wasn't until summer. How many years since she's seen her Nonnino? It must have been before she went to America. She missed him dearly. Nonnino always took her seriously when she was a child. When her father comes back, she'll make sure to talk to him about it.

"Mia-nee, what's that?" Fuuta asked her. He came out of the kitchen holding a glass of milk.

"Hmmnn? It's a letter from Hogwarts," she told him. Fuuta scrunched his expression up and she laughed. She just found his confused reactions to be cute.

"Mia-nee, you're so weird sometimes."

"I know right?" she chortled. He smiled fondly at her.

"No wonder Tsuna-nii loves you so much."

She froze. Eh? Eh? EHHHHHHHHHHH?

Then the kid calmly sipped his drink as if he didn't just drop a huge teenage bomb on her and went into their room. She didn't know how long she stood there, only that Fuuta's innocent sentence was replaying in her mind like a broken record. Fuuta must have been joking right? RIGHT? He's ten-years old!

She sank in her couch to stare at the ceiling in a sort of trance.

When Fuuta stepped out of the room and saw her, he shook his head, exasperated. "Somebody had to do it," he muttered to himself.

* * *

><p><strong>Fuuta is boss. Seriously, where's the love for Fuuta? <strong>

**Anyway, I have a rant that's been going through my head while I was writing this chapter. Let's start!**

**Tsuna's interaction with the Ninth is really limited. Isn't there some kind of obligation for them to meet under normal circumstances? First time was when he was kid - not counted. Second was when Tsuna nearly killed the ninth and the third was when they were on a battle ship to Shimon Island. Tsuna calls him grandpa out of familiarity and if he's going to keep calling him that, then I want to give emphasis to their relationship so that it would hurt so much more for Tsuna later on. **

**Besides, grandpas are awesome. Tsuna should acknowledge his relatives more. I mean, his grandparents on his mom's side must have died. You don't just ignore the fact you have a grandkid. Ha, imagine Timoteo finally having the chance to spoil him. I also think a meeting with the ninth for Mia would be cool. **

**Rant over. Not much to talk about yet but in future chapters, these rants will get longer.**

**I'll be resuming the Daily Life Arc afterwards and do Tsuna's birthday. Yay! **

**ONE LAST THING.**

**As I've mentioned before, there will be lemons in the future. That and some darker themes. I don't like changing the ratings so I'll probably split this story so that the other one will be a sequel wherein it will be rated M. My headcanon usually revolves around Tsuna being an animal when he wants to - yea know, under the right conditions (e.g. he has to be frustrated, jealous or angry). Being a teenager doesn't help either but it's also part of my HC that he's the sweetest too. **

**Back to the story at hand though, was this chapter good or not? **

**Review!**


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